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Rev.  Robert  Ernest  Caldwell,  D.  D. 

Born  October  18,  1858. 
Died  January  3,  1904. 


PRINTED    8Y    THE    FAMILY    FOR    PRIVATE    DISTRIBUTION. 


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BALTIMORE. 

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TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


I    Biographical  Sketch 1 

II    Death  and  Burial 8 

III  Funeral  Addresses 25 

IV  Tributes 37 

V    Memorials 50 

VI    Reminiscences 78 


I.    BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


REV.  ROBERT  ERNEST  CALDWELL,  D.  D.; 
fell  asleep  in  Jesus,  at  half  past  three  o'clock  on 
Sunday  morning,  January  third,  1904,  at  the  age  of 
forty-five  years,  two  months  and  sixteen  days. 

He  was  the  only  son  of  Walter  Pharr  and  Nannie 
Weatherly  Caldwell. 

At  the  time  of  his  birth  his  parents  were  residing  at 
Statesville,  North  Carolina,  but  moved  to  Greensboro 
in  his  fifteenth  year. 

He  connected  himself  with  the  church  at  that  place 
in  November,  1876,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  J. 
Henry  Smith,  D.  D. 

After  his  course  was  completed  at  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  he  first  adopted  the  profession  of  his 
father,  who  was  an  eminent  lawyer;  but  feeling  the 
divine  call  to  preach  the  Gospel,  he  soon  devoted  him- 
self to  the  ministry  as  his  life-work. 

For  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  his  ancestors  had 
been  Presbyterian  preachers  in  an  unbroken  line,  run- 
ning back  to  the  time  of  the  persecution  in  Scotland 
and  the  settlement  in  the  north  of  Ireland. 

(1) 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

His  father,  who  was  the  youngest  son  of  Rev. 
Samuel  Craighead  Caldwell,  of  Mecklenburg  County, 
North  Carolina,  was  the  first  break  in  that  illustrious 
line,  which  included  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
preachers  and  teachers  in  the  State,  notably  Rev.  Dr. 
Alexander  Craighead,  the  first  Presbyterian  preacher 
who  resided  in  western  North  Carolina,  and  Rev.  Dr. 
David  Caldwell,  a  celebrated  preacher  and  patriot  dur- 
ing the  War  of  the  Revolution,  and  principal  of  the 
most  famous  classical  school  in  the  South  one  hun- 
dred years  ago. 

After  abandoning  law,  Mr.  Caldwell  studied  the- 
ology at  Union  Seminary,  Virginia,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1884,  and  was  licensed  the  same  year 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Orange. 

It  was  at  Chapel  Hill  that  he  preached  his  first  ser- 
mon after  licensure,  and  it  was  there  also  that  he  was 
called  upon  to  preside  for  the  first  time  as  Moderator 
of  Orange  Presbytery. 

He  had  in  his  possession  a  time-worn  Sabbath  School 
diploma  presented  him  by  his  honored  teacher,  Mrs. 
Cornelia  Phillips  Spencer,  when  he  was  a  student  at 
Chapel  Hill,  and  it  was  always  a  source  of  gratification 
to  him  that  in  the  early  days  of  his  ministry  he  was 
offered  the  pastorate  of  the  church  at  that  place,  a 
position  of  greater  importance  and  influence  than  he 
then  realized. 

In  1884  he  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky,  as  first  pastor  of  the  Southern  Presby- 

(2) 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

terian  Church  at  the  capital  city,  Frankfort,  where  he 
labored  two  years. 

The  membership  of  this  young  church  grew  in 
eighteen  months  from  forty  to  one  hundred  and  eighty. 

After  a  year  spent  in  post-graduate  study  at  Prince- 
ton, he  became  pastor  of  the  Highland  Presbyterian 
Church,  Louisville,  Kentucky,  which  doubled  its  mem- 
bership in  his  four  years'  pastorate. 

During  these  years  he  held  a  number  of  successful 
revival  meetings  in  the  principal  churches  of  Kentucky, 
and  in  1892  the  Synod  elected  him  Evangelist  for  the 
State  at  large,  feeling  the  need  of  one  who  had  proved 
his  fitness  for  such  work. 

The  Highland  Church,  through  its  commissioners, 
expressed  its  sense  of  his  usefulness  in  the  past  and 
pleaded  for  his  retention,  but  the  Presbytery  felt  the 
importance  of  the  synodical  call,  and,  as  Mr.  Caldwell 
accepted  it,  ordered  that  his  relation  to  the  Highland 
Church  should  terminate. 

The  responsible  trust  as  evangelist  he  discharged 
with  fidelity  and  success  until,  after  repeated  calls 
to  the  pastorate,  he  accepted  the  charge  at  Winston- 
Salem,  North  Carolina,  and,  from  April,  1893.  until 
his  death,  served  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
that  city. 

During  this  period  he  received  frequent  calls  and 
overtures  from  other  churches  throughout  the  South, 
none   of   which   were   seriously   considered,   however. 

(3) 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

on  account  of  the  importance  of  his  work  in  Winston- 
Salem,  where  he  was  wonderfully  used  of  God. 

In  1898  he  was  granted  leave  of  absence  by  his 
congregation,  and  for  several  months  he  traveled  in 
Europe,  Palestine  and  the  Orient. 

In  June  of  1900  Central  University  of  Kentucky 
honored  him  by  conferring  upon  him  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity. 

His  first  teacher,  Miss  Lydia  Salmon,  of  sainted 
memory,  in  commenting  upon  one  of  his  boyish  photo- 
graphs, wrote : 

"You  really  already  begin  to  look  like  a  Judge,  but  I 
hope  you  will  turn  out  to  be  a  D.  D. !" 

Prophetic  words,  and  no  doubt  these  two  friends, 
reunited  in  Heaven,  have  spoken  together  of  the  influ- 
ences set  to  work  in  those  days  of  boyhood. 

At  the  meeting  of  Synod  in  Charlotte,  in  1901,  Dr. 
Caldwell  was  elected  Moderator,  and  the  Charlotte 
Observer,  in  its  report,  has  this  to  say  of  him : 

"The  present  Moderator  has  presided  over  this  large 
body  with  much  ease,  grace  and  dignity.  Not  a  single 
one  of  his  rulings  has  been  disputed. 

"There  are  many  who  are  not  aware  of  the  appro- 
priateness in  the  election  of  Rev.  R.  E.  Caldwell  as 
Moderator. 

"The  Synod  is  now  meeting  in  the  shadow  of  the 
first  church  of  Mecklenburg  County,  Sugar  Creek. 

"Dr.  Caldwell  is  the  grandson  of  Rev.  Samuel  Craig- 
head Caldwell,  who  was  for  thirty-five  years  pastor  of 

(4) 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

Sugar  Creek  Church — from  1792  to  1826 — and  is  the 
great-great-grandson  of  Rev.  Alexander  Craighead, 
D.  D.,  the  first  pastor  of  the  church — from  1757  to 
1766. 

"When  the  Moderator  was  inducted  into  his  office, 
he  received,  and  has  wielded,  the  gavel  which  was 
made  from  a  sassafras  tree  that  grew  from  one  of  the 
poles  on  which  was  borne  the  lifeless  body  of  Dr. 
Craighead  to  his  grave. 

"It  was  presented  to  Synod  eight  years  ago  by  the 
citizens  of  this  county." 

In  his  youth,  Dr.  Caldwell  visited  the  graves  of  his 
venerated  ancestors  in  old  Sugar  Creek  Church-yard, 
and  after  his  death,  among  his  private  papers  were 
found  the  following  verses,  composed  at  the  time : 


'In  an  ancient  country  church-yard, 
'Mid  the  weeds  and  vines,  I  found 
An  humble  grave,  whose  plain  headstone, 
Thus  marked,  as  hallowed  ground — 

'Preserve,  O,  venerable  pile, 
Inviolate,  thy  sacred  trust, 
To  thy  cold  arms  the  Christian  Church, 
Weeping,  commits  her  richest  dust.' 

I  bowed  my  head  for  I  stood  at  the  tomb 
Where  my  grandfather  slept,  'neath  the  sod, 
Near  the  very  spot  where  his  own  grand  sire 
Had  preached  the  great  goodness  of  God. 

And  here  I,  another  grandson,  stood, 
With  a  heart  young,  warm  and  glowing, 
And  I  prayed  that  God  would  bless  the  seed 
Which  His  Spirit  then  was  sowing." 

(6) 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

God  indeed  heard  that  whispered  prayer  and  the  con- 
secration of  that  moment  was  the  mainspring-  of  a 
devoted  Christian  ministry. 

Dr.  Caldwell  was  a  member  of  the  local  lodge  of 
Masons,  and  for  several  years  Chaplain  of  Piedmont 
Commandery,  Knights  Templar.  He  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  Damon  Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias. 

In  1 90 1  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Charles  B. 
Aycock,  Chaplain  of  the  First  Regiment,  North  Caro- 
lina State  Guard,  with  the  rank  of  Captain,  under 
command  of  Brigadier-General  Jos.  F.  Armfield,  of 
Statesville. 

In  1902  he  was  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly 
Commissioner  to  the  Pan-Presbyterian  Council,  which 
met  in  Liverpool,  England,  in  June,  1904. 

Dr.  Caldwell  was  never  married,  and  is  survived 
by  his  mother,  Mrs.  Nannie  W.  Caldwell,  of  Winston- 
Salem,  and  six  sisters,  Mrs.  James  R.  Thompson,  of 
Atlanta,  Georgia ;  Mrs.  Sterling  Jones,  of  Greensboro ; 
Mrs.  Andrew  Buford,  of  Salisbury ;  Mrs.  John  Walker 
Fry,  of  Greensboro;  Mrs.  D.  H.  Barger,  of  Shawsville, 
Virginia,  and  Mrs.  Henry  Roan,  of  Winston-Salem. 

During  the  last  year  of  his  life  one  of  the  causes 
nearest  the  heart  of  Dr.  Caldwell  was  the  erection  of 
an  annex  to  the  church  for  the  Sabbath  School  and 
general  congregational  uses. 

In  this  he  was  ably  seconded  by  eight  young  men 
of  his  flock,  who  volunteered  their  services,  and  the 
plans  were  almost  matured  when  the  pastor  was  trans- 

(6) 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

ferred  to  the  church  above,  leaving  his  co-laborers  to 
complete  the  undertaking. 

This  they  are  accomplishing,  with  the  co-operation 
of  every  member  of  the  church,  and  the  "R.  E.  Cald- 
well Memorial  Building"  will  one  day  stand  as  a  monu- 
ment, not  only  of  their  zeal  in  good  works,  but  of  the 
devotion  as  well  of  an  entire  congregation  to  the 
memory  of  a  beloved  pastor. 


(7) 


II.    DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 


[From  the  Daily  Sentinel,  Winston-Salem,  N.  C,  Jan.  4,  1904.] 


DEATH  OF  REV.  DR.  R.  E.  CALDWELL. 


Beloved  Pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 

This  City  Passes  Away  After  Undergoing 

Surgical  Operation  in  a  Hospital 

at  Philadelphia. 

REV.  DR.  ROBERT  ERNEST  CALDWELL, 
the  beloved  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  is  dead.  The  end  came  about  3.30  o'clock 
Sunday  morning  in  Dr.  Joseph  Price's  private  hos- 
pital, Philadelphia. 

The  news  of  his  death  was  a  terrible  shock  to  the 
entire  community.  A  brief  dispatch  was  received  here 
Sunday  morning  stating  that  Dr.  Caldwell  was  criti- 
cally ill.  This  dispatch  was  sent  from  Philadelphia 
late  Saturday  night,  after  the  telegraph  office  here  was 
closed,  and  a  few  minutes  after  the  first  message  was 
received  another  came  announcing  that  Dr.  Caldwell 
was  dead. 

(8) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

Dr.  Caldwell  had  been  indisposed  for  several  weeks. 
He  spent  a  week  or  more  in  the  hospital  here,  receiving 
treatment  from  local  physicians.  Upon  the  advice  of 
friends  he  decided  to  go  to  Philadelphia  and  consult  a 
specialist.  He  left  here  Monday  morning,  December 
28,  and  went  direct  to  Dr.  Joseph  Price's  hospital. 

Thursday  an  operation  was  performed  upon  Dr. 
Caldwell  for  appendicitis.  The  operation  was  con- 
sidered successful  and  telegrams  and  letters  received 
here  up  to  Saturday  night  reported  the  patient  to  be 
doing  nicely. 

Shock  to  Congregation. 

A  large  congregation  gathered  at  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  at  10.30  Sunday  morning  to  hear  Rev. 
J.  A.  Scott,  of  Statesville,  who  had  been  invited  by  the 
pastor  to  occupy  his  pulpit  during  his  absence.  When 
Mr.  Scott  announced  the  death  of  Dr.  Caldwell  great 
grief  was  manifested  by  the  entire  congregation,  and  on 
this  account  it  was  decided  not  to  hold  any  service. 
Many  of  the  members  wept  like  children.  The  scene 
was  indeed  touching. 

Dr.  Caldwell's  last  sermon  to  his  congregation  was 
delivered  on  Sunday  morning,  December  27.  It  was 
an  earnest  message.  The  pastor  made  a  personal 
appeal  to  every  member  individually  for  reconsecra- 
tion  and  new  pledges  of  fidelity  to  the  church. 

Several  pastors  announced  to  their  respective  con- 

(9) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

gregations  Sunday  the  death  of  Dr.  Caldwell.  Earnest 
invocations  were  also  offered  in  behalf  of  the  bereaved 
relatives,  especially  the  aged  and  heartbroken  mother. 
In  speaking  of  the  deceased,  one  preacher  said  :  "Those 
who  knew  him  best,  loved  him  most/' 

The  funeral  service  will  be  conducted  from  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  at  10  o'clock  tomorrow  morning. 
Below  is  given  the  order  of  the  service  as  suggested 
by  the  Twin-City  Ministerial  Association  and  which 
will  likely  be  carried  out : 

Choir  selection. 
Hymn. 

Scripture  Reading. 

Sermon  by  Dr.  E.  W.  Smith,  of  Greensboro. 
Remarks  by  Rev.   Dr.   H.   A.   Brown   and   Bishop 
Ronthaler. 

Prayer  by  Rev.  Harold  Turner. 

Hymn. 

Benediction. 

Dr.  Caldwell  was  an  honored  member  of  the  Masonic 
order  and  the  members  of  the  two  lodges  here  will 
attend  the  service  in  a  body.  A  committee  will  also 
accompany  the  remains  to  Greensboro.  The  interment 
will  be  in  the  cemetery  there,  in  the  lot  where  the 
father  was  laid  to  rest  several  years  ago. 

To  Attend  in  a  Body. 

The  Twin-City  Ministerial  Association  held  a  called 

(10) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

meeting  this  morning.  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
prepare  suitable  resolutions  to  be  read  at  their  next 
meeting.  It  was  agreed  that  the  ministers  attend  the 
funeral  in  a  body. 

It  was  an  informal  meeting,  the  ministers  talking 
in  hushed  whispers  as  one  and  another  would  express 
with  deepest  feeling  their  sorrow  at  the  sudden  death 
of  the  brother  so  beloved. 

The  pall  of  sadness  which  has  fallen  over  the  city 
is  nowhere  heavier  among  the  many  friends  of  the 
lamented  gentleman  than  it  is  upon  his  brother  min- 
isters ;  every  one  of  them  was  his  close  personal  friend. 


[From  The  Journal,  Winston-Salem,  N.  C,  Jan.  4,  1904] 


REV.  DR.  R.  E.  CALDWELL,  PASTOR  OF  THE 
FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  DEAD. 


He  Succumbed  to  Operation  Performed  in  Hospital  in 
Philadelphia,  Pa. — Funeral  at  10  o'clock — Inter- 
ment at  Greensboro — To  be  Buried 
With  Masonic  Honors. 

Since  Sunday  morning  sorrow  and  grief,  deep  and 
piercing,  has  filled  the  hearts  of  our  people.  Tears 
have  filled  the  eyes  of  strong  men  and  trickled  down 
their  cheeks,  and  women  have  wept  like  children. 

(11) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

A  righteous  man,  a  good  man,  is  dead.  One  in 
whose  life  and  teaching  was  exemplified  the  beauties  of 
Christianity.  His  life-work  had  been  devoted  to  the 
elevation  of  humanity  to  a  plane  from  which  glimpses 
could  be  caught  of  the  dwelling  place  of  the  great  Jeho- 
vah. He  had  won  the  hearts  of  the  people  by  a  sunny, 
congenial  nature  that  spoke  friendship  and  purity  of 
motives,  and  a  sympathy  and  interest  that  lifted  and 
strengthened  and  spoke  peace  through  the  teachings  of 
the  blessed  Redeemer. 

This  good  man,  so  universally  beloved,  was  the 
Rev.  Dr.  R.  E.  Caldwell,  pastor  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  this  city.  He  died  in  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  early  Sunday  morning  as  a  result  of  an 
operation  for  appendicitis. 

The  news  of  the  death  of  Dr.  Caldwell  was  a  great 
shock  to  the  community  and  a  terrible  shock  to  his 
congregation.  Many  had  assembled  in  the  church 
Sunday  morning  to  hear  the  services  to  be  conducted 
by  Rev.  J.  A.  Scott,  of  Statesville,  who  had  been  invited 
by  Dr.  Caldwell  to  fill  the  pulpit  in  his  absence,  and 
there  received  the  intelligence  of  the  death  of  their 
pastor.  No  services  were  held  because  of  the  great 
grief  manifested  by  those  present.  Many  of  them  wept 
like  children,  while  others  left  the  church  to  keep  from 
witnessing  a  scene  so  touching  and  pathetic. 

Just  a  week  ago  Dr.  Caldwell  preached  a  sermon, 
the  subject  of  which  was  close  to  the  heart  of  every 
member  of  his  congregation.    It  was  a  direct,  personal 

(12) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

appeal  to  every  member  individually  for  reconsecration 
and  new  pledges  of  fidelity  to  the  church.  Now  that 
he  has  passed  away  so  unexpectedly  this  eloquent  ser- 
mon comes  vividly  into  the  mind  and  forces  convic- 
tions of  the  sincerity  and  purity  of  the  motives  that 
actuated  it,  and  when  considered  in  the  light  that  he 
must  have  felt  that  it  might  be  his  last  sermon,  the 
effect  upon  the  congregation,  when  reflected  upon  now, 
cannot  fail  to  make  their  grief  more  poignant. 

Dr.  Caldwell  left  for  Philadelphia  last  Monday. 
The  operation  was  performed  Thursday.  Telegrams 
received  up  to  Saturday  night  after  the  operation  was 
performed  stated  that  the  patient  was  doing  well, 
and  the  news  of  his  death  Sunday  morning  was  a 
terrible  shock. 

[From  the  Daily  Record,  Greensboro,  N.  C,  Jan.  4,  1004] 
SAD  DEATH  OF  DR.  CALDWELL. 


A  Beloved  Winston  Minister  Dies  Unexpectedly. 


Was  in  a   Philadelphia   Hospital  Being   Treated  for 

Appendicitis — News  of  His  Death  Caused  a 

Severe  Shock  to  His  Relatives 

and  Acquaintances. 

At  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Sunday,  while  ser- 
vices were  in  progress,  a  message  was  sent  to  Rev.  Dr. 

(13) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

Smith,  announcing  the  death  of  Rev.  Dr.  Robert  Ernest 
Caldwell,  for  ten  years  the  pastor  of  the  Winston- 
Salem  Presbyterian  Church. 

Dr.  Caldwell  was  greatly  beloved  here,  where  he 
was  raised,  his  father  being  Hon.  Walter  Caldwell, 
a  prominent  lawyer  in  his  day,  and  his  mother  being 
a  Weatherly,  one  of  the  most  influential  of  Guilford's 
old  families. 

Dr.  Caldwell's  remains  will  reach  here  this  evening 
at  7.10  o'clock  and  will  be  carried  through  to  Winston, 
where  the  funeral  will  be  held  in  his  church  at  10.30 
o'clock  tomorrow  morning,  the  sermon  being  preached 
by  Rev.  Dr.  Egbert  Smith,  pastor  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  here,  and  a  life-long  friend  of  the 
deceased  divine.  From  Winston  the  remains  will  be 
brought  to  Greensboro  on  a  special  train  at  about  noon 
to  be  interred  by  the  side  of  Dr.  Caldwell's  father  in 
Greene  Hill  Cemetery. 

Dr.  Caldwell  was  about  forty-five  years  of  age,  and 
had  accomplished  a  great  work  in  life,  as  well  as  in 
the  pulpit.  His  death  has  caused  widespread  sorrow 
throughout  the  State,  nowhere  more  than  here  where 
from  his  boyhood  he  was  always  a  favorite  with  every- 
bodv  who  knew  him. 


(14) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

[From  the  Daily  Sentinel,  Winston-Salem,  N.  C,  Jan.  6,  1904.] 


DR.  CALDWELL  LAID  TO  REST. 


Impressive  Funeral  Service  Held  at  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  This  Morning. 


Beautiful  Tributes  to  Beloved  Man  of  God. 


Address  by  Dr.  Smith,  of  Greensboro,  and  Remarks 
by  Dr.  Brown  and  Bishop  Rondthaler — A  Large 
Concourse  of  Sympathising  Friends  in  Attendance 
— Floral  Offerings — Remains  Sent  to  Greensboro. 

The  funeral  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Robert  Ernest 
Caldwell  was  conducted  from  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  at  10.30  o'clock  this  morning'.  The  service 
was  conducted  by  Rev.  Dr.  Egbert  W.  Smith,  pastor 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Greensboro,  assisted  by 
Bishop  Rondthaler,  Rev.  H.  A.  Brown,  D.  D.,  and  Rev. 
Harold  Turner.  The  church  was  crowded  with  sympa- 
thetic friends  who  had  gathered  to  pay  a  last  sad 
tribute  to  one  whom  they  all  loved  and  admired  and 
who  loved  all.  Seldom  has  there  gathered  a  congre- 
gation upon  whose  faces  grief  and  sympathy  were 
more  apparent.  The  pulpit  was  draped,  and  arranged 
around  it  were  the  beautiful  floral  tributes  from  friends 
both  far  and  near.  The  display  was  magnificent,  to 
say  the  least. 

(15) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

Preceded  by  handsomely  uniformed  Knights  Tem- 
plar and  the  Ministerial  Association  of  both  of  which 
he  was  an  honored  and  esteemed  member,  the  remains 
were  conveyed  to  his  church  which  he  loved  so  well, 
for  which  he  labored  so  faithfully,  and  which  will  ever 
stand  as  a  monument  to  his  noble  work. 

The  services  began  with  the  singing  of  "Jesus,  Lover 
of  My  Soul,"  a  favorite  hymn  of  the  dead  pastor. 
Bishop  Rondthaler  offered  a  beautiful  and  touching 
prayer,  beseeching  the  Almighty  to  comfort  the  hearts 
of  the  bereaved  family  and  congregation,  and  thanking 
God  that  such  a  man — so  true,  so  upright  and  so  manly 
— had  been  given  to  cheer  mortals  onward  in  this  sin- 
cursed  world. 

Rev.  Dr.  Brown  read  the  Scripture  lesson,  which 
was  taken  from  the  last  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Revela- 
tion— a  picture  of  the  reward  that  is  awaiting  the 
righteous  beyond  the  grave. 

Dr.  Smith,  in  broken  and  quavering  voice,  began  by 
saying  that  he  felt  that  he  should  be  there  with  the 
bereaved  family  rather  than  in  the  pulpit,  for  the  death 
of  this  good  man  was  a  personal  loss  to  him,  but  that 
he  had  come  to  lay  a  tribute  on  the  casket  of  his  friend 
and  to  weep  with  those  who  weep.  He  gave  a  short 
sketch  of  the  deceased,  following  his  career  from  his 
birth  in  1858  until  his  death. 

Dr.  Smith  offered  a  fervent  prayer  petitioning  the 
Heavenly  Father  that  this  great  affliction  would  draw 
the  church  yet  closer  to  Him. 

(16) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

Dr.  H.  A.  Brown  spoke  feelingly  of  the  deceased, 
saying  that  as  Jonathan  was  to  David  and  David  to 
Jonathan,  so  were  he  and  the  deceased.  The  speaker 
said  Dr.  Caldwell  was  the  leader  in  temperance  and 
Sabbath  observance  reform,  and  was  bold  and  fearless 
in  God's  work. 

Bishop  Rondthaler  followed  in  a  few  brief  remarks, 
saying  that  this  death  was  indeed  sad,  as  the  prospects 
were  so  bright  for  a  life  of  much  greater  usefulness, 
but  that  God  had  seen  fit  to  call  him  to  his  reward 
while  yet  in  his  prime.  The  Bishop  referred  to  the 
grief-stricken  mother  and  sisters  and  prayed  God's 
blessing  upon  them. 

"Servant  of  Christ,  Well  Done,"  was  sweetly  ren- 
dered, after  which  Rev.  Harold  Turner  closed  the 
service  with  prayer. 

The  lid  was  then  removed  from  the  casket  and  the 
congregation  took  a  last  look  at  the  dead  pastor.  The 
scene  was  very  pathetic. 

The  remains  were  removed  to  the  depot  and  placed 
upon  a  special  train  for  Greensboro,  where  the  inter- 
ment took  place.  The  remains  were  accompanied  to 
Greensboro  by  the  family,  the  Knights  Templar  and  a 
large  number  of  friends. 

The  pall-bearers  were  the  elders  of  the  church, 
Messrs.  T.  J.  Brown,  J.  W.  Shepherd,  J.  M.  Rogers, 
W.  B.  Carter,  T.  A.  Wilson  and  Thos.  Patterson. 


(17) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

[From  the  Winston-Salem  Journal,  Jan.  7,  1904.] 


GRIEF-STRICKEN  FRIENDS  PERFORM  LAST 
DUTIES  TO  THE  HONORED  DEAD. 


Beautiful  and  Touching,  Eloquent  and  Impressive  Tri- 
butes Paid  to  the  Character  of  Dr.  R.  E.  Caldwell. 
— Remains  Laid  to  Rest  with  Masonic  Honors. — 
Floral  Offerings  Magnificent. 

The  last  sad  duties  that  can  be  performed  for  the  dead 
have  been  performed  for  the  late  Rev.  R.  E.  Caldwell, 
D.  D.  With  sad  hearts  and  streaming  eyes  his  body- 
has  been  lowered  into  the  grave. 

How  fortunate  are  those  for  whom  the  terrors  of  the 
grave  are  dispelled  by  the  teachings  of  the  blessed 
Saviour — by  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead.  All  that  is  mortal  of  the  dear  brother,  the  strong, 
gentle  friend,  the  beloved  pastor,  the  honored  citizen, 
the  loving,  thoughtful  son,  lies  sleeping  in  the  ceme- 
tery at  Greensboro  beside  his  honored  father.  The 
bleak  winds  are  singing  their  requiem  over  his  newly- 
made  grave.  But  the  spirit,  untrammeled,  has  taken  its 
flight,  and  stands  unterrified  in  the  presence  of  its 
Creator.  The  glories  of  Heaven  stretch  out  before 
his  vision.  The  songs  of  angels  and  the  shouts  of 
redeemed  souls,  many  of  whom,  perhaps,  his  burning 
expositions  of  divine  truth  have  led  to  salvation,  break 
upon  his  ears,  above  which  sounds  the  cry,  "Well  done, 

(18) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

thou  good  and  faithful  servant."  Our  loss  is  his  eter- 
nal gain.  Grief  and  sorrow  should  take  flight  before 
this  blessed  hope.  Death  is  but  the  doorway  through 
which  we  step  into  a  glorious  world  of  redeemed  saints, 
if  so  be  our  duty  has  been  performed  on  earth.  The 
life  of  him  who  has  just  passed  through  this  doorway 
forces  upon  the  hearts  of  all  who  knew  him  the  con- 
viction that  he  is  a  citizen  of  that  glorious  world,  and 
instead  of  grief  there  should  be  rejoicing. 

The  program  of  the  funeral  service  as  stated  in  the 
Journal  was  carried  out.  The  funeral  procession  left 
the  house  at  io  o'clock  a.  m.  The  service  at  the  church 
began  at  10.30  a.  m.  The  church  was  crowded  to  its 
utmost  capacity,  even  standing  room,  by  sorrowing 
friends.  The  services  opened  with  that  beautiful  hymn, 
"Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul."  On  the  rostrum  were 
Rev.  Egbert  W.  Smith,  D.  D.,  of  Greensboro,  Presby- 
terian ;  Bishop  Rondthaler,  Moravian ;  Rev.  H.  A. 
Brown,  D.  D.,  Baptist,  and  Rev.  Harold  B.  Turner, 
Methodist,  all  of  this  city. 

After  a  fervent,  appropriate  prayer  by  Bishop  Rond- 
thaler, invoking  divine  aid  in  comforting  the  hearts 
of  the  family,  the  congregation  and  friends,  and  after 
a  beautiful  Scripture  lesson  read  by  Dr.  Brown,  Rev. 
Egbert  W.  Smith  delivered  an  address  in  which  the 
excellencies  of  the  dead  pastor  were  held  up  before 
the  people  in  a  light  in  which  only  those  so  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  deceased,  as  was  Dr.  Smith,  could 
present  it.     Going  back  to  his  entry  upon  the  study 

(19) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

of  the  ministry,  nearly  twenty  years  ago,  he  made 
it  plain  that  he,  whose  body  lay  enshrined  in  death's 
stillness  before  the  congregation,  possessed  in  a  much 
higher  degree  than  is  usual  with  men  those  attributes 
of  character  which  approach  nearest  the  blessed 
Redeemer.  It  was  a  beautiful  tribute  to  a  good  man. 
Every  sentence  was  a  gem,  made  more  beautiful  by 
the  fact  that  he  of  whom  he  spoke  merited  all  that  was 
said.  It  was  a  touching  tribute  and  all  over  the  church 
tear-dimmed  eyes  and  quivering  lips  testified  to  the 
truth  of  his  remarks. 

Following  Dr.  Smith,  Dr.  Brown  paid  tribute  to  the 
dead,  to  him  of  whom  he  said  "Our  souls  were  knit 
in  friendship  like  those  of  David  and  Jonathan/'  He 
spoke  of  the  earnest  prayers  they  two  in  secret  had 
offered  for  the  people,  in  which  divine  guidance  was 
asked  for  the  bringing  about  of  a  greater  consecration 
of  the  lives  of  those  over  wrhom  they  presided  as  pas- 
tors, for  strength,  for  more  light,  for  more  influence. 
He  made  clear  the  motives  which  actuated  and  con- 
trolled the  consecrated  life  of  the  departed  brother. 

The  remarks  of  Bishop  Rondthaler  were  appro- 
priate, beautiful  and  full  of  tenderness.  They  were 
the  testimony  of  the  patriarch  to  the  sterling  qualities 
and  unusual  promise  of  a  life  of  usefulness  of  the 
young  man  of  God  he  had  known  so  intimately  and 
respected  so  highly.  They  told  of  that  special  gift  that 
enabled  Dr.  Caldwell  to  incorporate  in  his  sermons, 
and  develop  so  beautifully  for  instruction  and  for  good, 

(20) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

the  many  useful  ideas  that  came  to  him  by  earnest, 
thoughtful  study  and  research;  of  that  wonderful  dis- 
pensation, so  hard  for  us  to  understand,  by  which  God 
often  cuts  down  in  the  fullness  of  usefulness  and 
power  of  mind  and  body,  those  whose  lives  promise 
so  much  and  mean  so  much  for  the  good  of  mankind, 
while  those  grown  old  in  service  are  left  to  continue 
their  labors. 

Taken  together,  the  addresses  of  Dr.  Smith,  Dr. 
Brown  and  Bishop  Rondthaler  shed  a  light  upon  the 
life  of  Dr.  Caldwell  which  showed  unmistakably  a 
consecration  few  men  ever  attained. 

The  services  at  the  church  being  concluded,  the 
Knights  Templar  took  charge  of  the  remains,  and  the 
cortege  moved  in  solemn  procession  to  the  special  train 
which  bore  the  remains  to  their  last  resting  place. 
The  pall-bearers,  Knights  Templar,  were  J.  L.  Lud- 
low, W.  J.  Roberts,  W.  C.  Brown,  George  S.  Norfleet, 
J.  H.  Foote  and  J.  D.  Loughenour. 

Many  friends,  including  the  elders  of  the  church, 
accompanied  the  remains  to  Greensboro.  The  trip  was 
uneventful.  The  train  arrived  on  time  and  was  met 
at  the  depot  by  a  detachment  of  Knights  Templar  of 
that  city  and  many  friends. 

Arriving  at  the  cemetery  the  beautiful  burial  cere- 
mony of  the  Knights  Templar  was  entered  upon.  The 
services  were  conducted  by  Past  Grand  Prelate,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Chrietzberg,  assisted  by  Grand  Prelate  J.  K. 
Norfleet,   acting  as   Eminent   Commander.      A   more 

(21) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

beautiful,  solemn  and  impressive  service  could  not 
have  been  devised  by  man.  It  teems  with  lessons  of  a 
beautiful  life,  lifts  the  thoughts  and  the  soul  into  a 
closer  relation  with  the  Creator  and  breathes  a  spirit  of 
humanity  and  purity  that  can  be  found  nowhere  except 
in  the  teachings  of  Christianity. 

With  love  and  tenderness,  and  eyes  dimmed  with 
tears,  which  detracted  not  from  their  manhood,  they 
lowered  the  body  into  the  grave. 

The  floral  designs  in  beauty  and  profusion  could 
not  be  surpassed.  They  many  times  covered  the  newly- 
made  grave  and  when  it  is  remembered  that  each  rose- 
bud and  each  spray  spoke  an  eloquence  of  a  sorrowing 
heart  that  felt  too  crushed  to  speak  in  any  other  way, 
their  richness  and  their  beauty  can  be  more  fully 
appreciated. 

The  funeral  train  returning  reached  this  city  at  5 
o'clock  p.  m. 

[From  the  Greensboro  Record,  Jan.  7,  1904.] 

DISTINGUISHED  MINISTER  BURIED  AT 
GREENE  HILL. 


The   Remains   Brought    Over   From    Winston    on   a 
Special  Train  and  Met  Here  by  a  Large  Concourse 
of  People — The  Services  at  Winston. 

The   remains   of  the   late   Rev.   Dr.   Robert   Ernest 
Caldwell,  late  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 

(22) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

of  Winston,  were  brought  here  on  a  special  train,  arriv- 
ing at  two  o'clock  yesterday  afternoon. 

Many  Greensboro  people  were  at  the  depot  to  await 
the  arrival  of  the  funeral  train,  which  came  in  on  the 
main  line  and  stopped  conveniently  near  Buchanan 
Street,  where  the  hearse  and  carriages  were  in  waiting. 

The  train  consisted  of  a  baggage  car  and  two  pas- 
senger coaches.  The  casket  containing  the  remains 
of  the  honored  dead  and  scores  of  floral  designs  occu- 
pied the  baggage  coach.  Pall-bearers,  flower  bearers, 
relatives  of  the  deceased,  and  his  acquaintances,  includ- 
ing many  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  Winston, 
occupied  the  passenger  coaches. 

The  casket  was  removed  from  the  train  by  the  pall- 
bearers, all  of  whom  were  Winston  Knights  Templar. 
The  full  commandery  of  Knights  Templar  of  Winston 
came  over  in  a  body  and  were  met  and  joined  here  by 
an  escort  from  Ivanhoe  Commandery,  as  follows :  Gen. 
James  D.  Glenn,  Dr.  John  Thames,  Mr.  Butler,  C.  H. 
Ireland,  A.  E.  B.  Alford,  C.  M.  Vanstory,  C.  A.  Bray, 
Dr.  G.  W.  Whitsett.  All  the  Knights  Templar  wore 
full  uniform,  making  a  most  imposing  appearance. 

The  Knights  Templar  formed  in  a  double  line  near 
the  train  and  down  the  two  lines  thus  formed  the  body 
was  borne  to  the  hearse. 

At  the  cemetery  the  service,  with  the  exception  of  a 
prayer  by  Rev.  C.  E.  Hodgin,  pastor  of  Westminster 
Presbyterian   Church,   was   entirely   in   charge  of  the 

(23) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

Knights    Templar,    the    Knights    burying   their    dead 
according  to  the  impressive  ritual  of  the  order. 

The  Ministerial  Association  of  Winston-Salem,  as 
well  as  the  Knights  Templar,  came  over  in  a  body  to 
attend  the  concluding  exercises  of  the  obsequies  of 
Dr.  Caldwell. 


(24) 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  WINSTON-SALEM,  N.  C. 


III.    FUNERAL  ADDRESSES. 


i. 

[By  Rev.  Egbert  W.  Smith,  D.  D.,  Pastor  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  Greensboro,  N.  C] 


MY  FRIENDS,  if  I  consulted  my  feelings  today 
my  place  would  be  on  the  other  side  of  this 
casket,  among  the  mourners.  I  can  hardly  trust 
myself  to  put  into  words  my  sense  of  the  greatness  of 
the  loss  that  has  fallen  upon  this  church  and  commu- 
nity, upon  our  Presbytery,  our  Synod,  our  State,  in  the 
falling  asleep  of  this  beloved  brother,  whose  absence 
we  shall  mourn,  and  whose  memory  we  shall  cherish 

"Till  with  the  morn  those  angel  faces  smile 

Which  we  have  loved  long  since  and  lost  awhile." 

We  have  come  to  lay  upon  this  casket  which 
enshrines  such  precious  dust  our  tribute  wreath  of 
brotherly  affection,  and  to  weep  with  those  who  have 
entered  Sorrow's  Holy  of  Holies  and  whose  hearts 
today  are  full  to  breaking  with  thoughts  of  the  noble 
son,  the  strong  and  loving  brother,  the  generous  friend, 
the  faithful  and  devoted  pastor. 

(25) 


FUNERAL  ADDRESSES. 

Born  in  Greensboro,  North  Carolina,  1858,  in  the 
same  county  which  a  century  before  had  witnessed  the 
abiding  life-work  of  his  great  ancestor,  Dr.  David 
Caldwell,  there  flowed  in  his  veins  the  blood  of  preach- 
ers, scholars  and  patriots.  After  a  boyhood  spent  in 
Statesville,  he  returned  to  make  Greensboro  again  his 
home,  and  to  begin,  after  a  course  at  the  University, 
the  study  of  law. 

My  intimacy  with  him  dates  back  to  that  crisis  in  his 
life  when,  abandoning  his  legal  studies,  he  began  his 
preparation  for  the  ministry.  To  the  Saviour's  call 
to  preach  "the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God" 
he  responded  with  all  his  heart.  The  secular  aims  and 
ambitions  of  his  former  life  he  turned  his  back  upon 
for  Christ,  and  having  put  his  hand  to  the  plow  he 
never  looked  back.  Distinctly,  I  remember,  in  those 
dear  days  of  the  past,  the  enthusiastic  joy  with  which 
he  looked  forward  to  a  life  wholly  given  to  the  service 
of  his  Lord. 

His  first  two  seminary  vacations  were  spent  filling 
the  pulpit  of  Alamance  Church  and  supplying  a  mis- 
sion station  of  the  First  Church  of  Greensboro  which 
was  afterwards  developed  into  Westminster  Church. 
At  both  these  places  his  preaching,  even  at  that  early 
day,  attracted  large  congregations.  His  manifest  con- 
secration and  his  charming  social  gifts,  that  winning 
grace  of  cheerfulness  and  geniality  which  so  beautifully 
characterized  him  throughout  life,  greatly  endeared 
him  to  the  people.     After  the  lapse  of  twenty-three 

(26) 


FUNERAL   ADDRESSES. 

years,  in  these  early  spheres  of  but  a  few  months' 
student  labor,  there  are  yet  many,  to  my  certain  knowl- 
edge, who  rise  up  and  call  him  blessed. 

My  first  year  at  the  Seminary  was  his  Senior  year. 
I  shall  never  forget  the  characteristic  kindness  with 
which  he  welcomed  me  on  my  arrival,  a  stranger  in  a 
strange  land,  and  how  he  spared  no  time  or  effort  to 
make  me  happy  and  at  home  in  my  new  surroundings. 
I  found  that  he  was  already  a  man  of  mark,  popular 
in  all  circles,  and  recognized  by  students,  professors, 
and  townspeople,  as  one  of  the  foremost  men  and  finest 
preachers  at  the  Seminary.  The  best  sermon  I  ever 
heard  from  a  Seminary  student  during  my  three  years' 
course  was  preached  by  him.  It  made  a  profound 
impression  upon  me  and  upon  all  who  heard  it.  The 
text  was  "For  Jesus'  Sake."  It  gave  the  motive  and 
motto  of  his  own  noble  and  useful  life. 

He  was  licensed  in  April,  1884,  by  Orange  Presby- 
tery, and  in  December  of  the  same  year  was  ordained 
and  installed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Louisville  as  pas- 
tor of  the  South  Frankfort  Presbyterian  Church,  Ken- 
tucky. After  two  years  of  successful  labor  in  this  field 
he  was  called  to  the  Highland  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Louisville,  where  he  spent  four  years  of  eminently 
fruitful  service.  These  years  in  Kentucky  had  brought 
him  into  such  deserved  prominence  that  in  1892  the 
Kentucky  Synod  called  him  to  be  Evangelist  of  the 
State  at  large.  He  did  effective  work  in  this  great 
field  and  held  innumerable  meetings  at  various  points 

(27) 


FUNERAL  ADDRESSES. 

throughout  the  State.  But  his  heart  hungered  for  his 
own  people  and  his  own  State,  and  in  1893,  in  response 
to  a  unanimous  call,  he  became  pastor  of  this,  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Winston.  Here  his  gifts 
as  pastor,  preacher  and  worker  found  fruitful  exercise. 
For  several  years  the  church  was  in  an  almost  con- 
tinuous state  of  revival,  the  membership  growing  by 
leaps  and  bounds.  To  his  consecrated  energy,  building 
on  the  excellent  foundations  laid  by  his  predecessors, 
is  mainly  due  under  God  the  development  of  this 
church  into  one  of  the  foremost  churches  of  our  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  known  throughout  our  Synods  for  its 
abounding  liberality  and  good  works. 

In  our  Presbytery  he  was  conspicuously  useful,  influ- 
ential, and  beloved.  He  was  a  wise  counsellor,  an 
able  debater,  a  thorough  parliamentarian,  willing  to 
do  his  part  in  everything,  gentle  and  courteous  in 
bearing,  and  ever  regardful  of  the  feelings  and  the 
reputation  of  his  brethren.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
Presbytery's  Committee  on  Foreign  Missions,  and  was 
always  a  favorite  preacher  at  our  Presbyterial  meet- 
ings. The  last  sermon  I  heard  from  him  was  a  notable 
discourse  delivered  at  Reidsville  to  a  large  audience 
on  the  Observance  of  the  Sabbath. 

He  was  as  prominent  and  beloved  in  Synod  as  in 
Presbytery.  For  years  he  has  been  Synod's  Chair- 
man of  Foieign  Missions.  In  1900,  when  the  Synod's 
Twentieth  Century  Fund  movement  was  started  Synod 
appointed  him  Chairman  of  the  Supervisory  Com- 
es) 


FUNERAL  ADDRESSES. 

mittee  in  charge  of  the  work.  The  same  year  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  upon  him 
by  Central  University,  Kentucky.  In  1901  Synod 
bestowed  upon  him  the  highest  honor  in  its  gift  ;n 
electing  him  Moderator. 

It  was  a  frequent  remark  among  the  brethren  that 
we  never  had  a  better  presiding  officer,  one  who 
blended  more  beautifully  grace  with  dignity,  fairness 
with  courtesy,  gentleness  with  firmness. 

I  have  known  this  beloved  brother  intimately  almost 
from  my  boyhood.  In  church  courts  and  committees, 
in  constant  personal  touch  from  year  to  year,  we  have 
counselled  and  labored  together  in  the  service  of  our 
common  Lord.  I  wish  to  bear  my  public  testimony 
to  the  sweetness  of  his  spirit,  without  malice,  without 
bitterness,  to  the  depth  and  fervor  of  his  consecration, 
to  the  purity  of  his  character,  to  the  warmth  and  gene- 
rosity of  his  heart,  and  to  the  closeness  of  his  fellow- 
ship with  Christ.  God  grant  that  that  mantle  of  his 
brave  and  sweet  and  sunny  spirit  may  fall  upon  his 
brethren  in  the  ministry !  God  grant  that  his  memory, 
so  inwoven  with  the  history  of  this  church,  may  be 
an  abiding  benediction  upon  all  its  members  and  an 
inspiration  to  them  to  labor  like  him  for  its  prosperity. 

We  cannot  sorrow  for  him.  While  we  worship  in 
this  poor  earthly  temple,  his  eyes  behold  the  King  in 
His  beauty.  While  we  are  left  to  stumble  onward  in 
our  sin-soiled,  tear-stained  pathway,  he  walks  with 
Christ  in  white  in  the  Paradise  of  God. 

(29) 


FUNERAL  ADDRESSES. 

"For  he  has  gone  where  his  Redeemer  is, 

In  that  fair  city  on  the  other  side, 
And  at  the  threshold  of  his  palaces 

Has  loosed  his  sandals  ever  to  abide. 
I  know  his  Heavenly  King  did  smiling  wait 
To  give  him  welcome  when  he  touched  the  gate." 

That  gate,  I  doubt  not,  swung  inward  for  his 
entrance  before  the  hands  of  many  whom  his  own 
faithful  ministry  had  blessed,  and  who  were  waiting 
there  to  welcome  him  into  that  vast  and  bright  Eter- 
nity, all  vivid  with  God's  love,  where  instant  vision 
is  perfect  joy  and  immortal  labor  is  immortal  rest. 

Beloved,  the  parting  is  only  for  a  little  while.  We, 
too,  are  going  home.  May  Heaven  ever  lie  upon  our 
horizon,  luring  us  on.  And  when  at  last  we  sink  to 
rest  and  dream  that  we  behold  again  the  faces  kept  in 
memory,  may  we  awake  and  find  it  is  not  a  dream,  but 
that  we  are  in  Heaven.  There  will  our  loved  ones 
come  to  greet  us,  and  there,  sweeter  than  all  else,  we 
shall  behold  the  face  of  our  Saviour  and  Lord,  and  be 
like  Him  and  dwell  with  Him  forevermore. 


"Oh.  these  parting  scenes  will  end 
Some  sweet  day,  by  and  by ; 

We  shall  gather,  friend  with  friend, 
Some  sweet  day.  by  and  by; 

There  before  our  Father's  throne. 

When  the  mists  and  clouds  have  flown. 

We  shall  greet  our  loved  ones  gone, 
Some  sweet  day,  by  and  by." 


(30) 


FUNERAL  ADDRESSES. 
II. 


[By  Rev.  H.  A.  Brown,  D.  D.,  Pastor  First  Baptist  Church, 
Winston-Salem,  N.  C] 


I  cannot  trust  myself  to  say  some  things  I  would 
like  to  say  this  morning.  The  relations  which  have 
existed  between  Brother  Caldwell  and  me  have  been 
so  friendly,  so  intimate,  so  tender,  that  I  feel  more 
like  taking  my  place  with  the  bereaved  family  than 
I  do  like  speaking  at  his  funeral.  When  he  came 
here  eleven  years  ago,  a  comparative  stranger,  he 
quickly  walked  into  the  affections  of  my  heart  and 
won  my  confidence,  and  through  all  the  years  that  have 
intervened  since  then  there  has  not  been  so  much 
as  a  shadow  to  fall  on  the  good  feelings  between  us. 
I  come  now  to  lay  on  his  casket  my  tribute  of  unfail- 
ing love  and  tender  friendship.  Four  times  since  I 
have  been  in  this  town  we  have  been  called  upon  to 
bury  our  pastors  and  each  affliction  has  been  harder 
for  me  to  bear.  Bro.  Caldwell  and  I  walked  together, 
and  talked  together,  and  prayed  together,  and  wept 
together.  What  David  was  to  Jonathan  and  Jonathan 
was  to  David,  this  man  was  to  me.  I  am  sure  I  voice 
the  sentiment  of  all  the  preachers  here  when  I  say  that 
we  all  carry  with  us  a  sense  of  personal  bereavement 
in  his  death. 

A  few  weeks  ago  he  sent  for  me  to  come  to  his  study. 
I  went.    We  talked  of  personal  consecration,  of  trying 

(31) 


FUNERAL  ADDRESSES. 

to  know  the  mind  of  the  Lord  in  all  things,  of  being 
willing  to  do  or  suffer  His  will.  We  then  knelt  and 
prayed  for  a  larger,  deeper,  wider  consecration  of  life 
and  service.  He  was  greatly  moved  and  I  felt  when 
I  left  him  that  I  knew  more  of  his  heart  than  I  had 
ever  known  before.  And  now  that  he  is  gone,  I  think 
I  have  a  better  understanding  of  it  all.  It  was  the 
infinite  longing  of  his  soul  for  the  larger  and  better  life 
upon  which  he  has  now  entered — it  was  the  ripening 
of  his  spirit  for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light. 

This  town  has  lost  one  of  its  most  aggressive  citi- 
zens. He  was  interested  in  the  material  welfare  of  this 
city.  He  prayed  for  the  prosperity  of  all  our  people. 
He  believed  in  a  high  form  of  civic  righteousness. 
He  stood  for  law  and  order.  He  was  our  foremost 
advocate  for  temperance  reform,  Sabbath  reform  and 
all  those  other  reforms  which  tend  to  the  amelioration 
of  the  welfare  of  all  our  people.  He  had  strong  convic- 
tions and  he  was  not  ashamed  of  them  nor  afraid  to 
express  them.  He  stood  here  as  a  faithful  watchman 
on  the  walls  of  Zion  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of 
God,  and  clear  his  skirts  of  the  blood  of  all  men. 

As  a  preacher  he  was  earnest  and  strong,  and  his 
sermons  always  had  a  Biblical  basis.  They  were  char- 
acterized by  a  broad  and  catholic  spirit.  I  shall 
never  forget  a  scene  that  occurred  here  a  few  weeks 
ago  when  a  series  of  meetings  was  going  on  in  this 
church.  One  Sabbath  afternoon  he  invited  his  brother 
pastors  to  take  a  seat  on  the  platform,  and  he  delivered 

(32) 


FUNERAL  ADDRESSES. 

to  all  the  people  gathered  a  stirring  address  on  ''a 
deeper  spiritual  life  and  a  more  determined  effort  to 
save  the  unsaved  among  us."  The  impressions  of  that 
address  will  not  fade  from  my  mind  with  the  passing 
years.  It  proved  to  be  his  farewell  message  to  the 
people  of  Winston-Salem  along  this  line.  As  a  pastor 
he  was  loyal  and  loving.  He  possessed  the  true  shep- 
herd spirit.  He  knew  the  meaning  of  that  passage 
which  says,  "Besides  all  these  things  there  come  on 
me  daily  the  care  of  all  the  churches." 

He  loved  the  young  people  and  the  old  people,  and 
tried  to  be  helpful  to  all.  He  was  specially  gifted  in 
rendering  the  higher  and  tenderer  ministries  of  life  and 
service.  He  knew  how  to  start  influences  to  work 
for  the  good  of  others  without  letting  his  hand  be  seen 
in  them  at  all.  He  was  so  genial  and  cheerful  and 
optimistic  always — he  was  so  largely  human !  His 
presence  was  to  me  a  benediction  and  an  inspiration. 
His  closing  acts  were  illustrative  of  his  beautiful  spirit. 
His  last  sermon  was  preached  on  the  last  Sunday  in 
the  year,  and  during  the  joyous  Christmas  time,  on 
the  subject  of  peace.  It  was  a  prophecy  of  the  blessed 
and  unending  peace  upon  which  he  was  about  to  enter. 
It  was  appropriate  that  his  last  public  prayer  should 
be  offered  with  his  mother  about  the  family  altar.  He 
went  away  from  us  with  a  prayer  on  his  lips.  It  was 
fitting  that  just  before  the  opening  twilight  that 
ushered  in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  Sabbaths  ever 
seen  on  earth  his  spirit  should  go  up  to  God. 

(33) 


FUNERAL  ADDRESSES. 

"How  blest  the  righteous  when  he  dies, 

When  sinks  a  weary  soul  to  rest, 
How  mildly  beam  the  closing  eyes, 

How  gently  waves  the  expiring  breast." 

Farewell,  friend,  brother,  fellow  pastor,  till  we  meet 
again ! 


III. 

[By  Rt.  Rev.  Edward  Rondthaler,  D.  D.,  Pastor  Home  Mora- 
vian Church,  Salem,  N.  CJ 


We  have  been  so  greatly  afflicted  over  this  sad  dis- 
pensation whereby  a  beloved  friend  and  pastor  has 
been  suddenly  removed  from  us,  that  we  have  hardly, 
as  yet,  found  time  or  heart  to  consider  how  beautiful, 
after  all,  this  departure  has  been. 

A  few  days  ago  our  brother  was  still  busy  with  the 
cares  and  the  struggles  of  the  pastorate.  He  was  out, 
as  we  his  fellow  pastors  still  are,  in  the  glare  and  the 
heat  and  the  dust  of  this  great  and  difficult  task.  He 
was  exposed  to  its  strain  and  anxiety  and  disappoint- 
ment. Then,  suddenly  for  him,  a  door  was  opened, 
and  opening  inward,  it  ushered  him  into  his  rest  and 
joy  and  triumph  of  his  heavenly  reward.  Of  all  of  us 
pastors,  intimately  associated  with  him  in  the  toils 
of  this  calling,  he  has  been  the  first  to  see  the  Master's 
face  and  to  behold  the  King  in  His  beauty. 

I  have  during  these  years  been  intimately  acquainted 
with  Dr.  Caldwell,  and  have  had  great  admiration  for 

(34) 


FUNERAL  ADDRESSES. 

the  varied  gifts  with  which  he  adorned  the  ministry. 
He  was  a  fine  scholar  and  had  made  Biblical  study  the 
especial  effort  of  his  life.  He  had,  withal,  the  happy 
talent  of  incorporating  whatever  he  gained  from  books 
and  all  that  came  to  him  in  the  genial  converse  of  daily 
life  into  his  sermons,  so  that  he  spoke  with  a  fullness 
of  resource  as  well  as  with  an  energy  of  utterance, 
and  was,  in  the  the  very  best  sense,  a  pulpit  orator. 
I  had  noted  his  growth  and  development  in  these 
respects,  and  judged  that  God  would  make  use  of  this 
man's  wide  and  deep  preparation  for  an  extended  min- 
istry of  still  richer  fruitage.  I  had  thought  that  my 
brother  would  be  eminent  in  his  beloved  calling  long 
after  my  own  head  was  laid  to  its  rest. 

But  God's  thoughts  have  not  been  our  thoughts,  nor 
have  His  ways,  in  this  mysterious  dispensation,  been 
our  ways.  Suddenly  our  brother's  earthly  task  was 
ended,  and  what  he  had  grown  to  be  and  had  become 
able  to  do  was,  by  the  divine  decree,  reserved  for  those 
eternal  scenes  where  work  will  be  without  weariness, 
and  where  tasks  will  be  wreathed  around  with  trium- 
phant praise. 

You  will  have  noticed  in  your  own  observation  and 
experience  of  life,  that  when  God's  thoughts  and  ways 
differ  from  ours,  it  is  because,  in  the  long  run,  they 
are  so  much  wiser,  better  and  higher  than  ours.  And 
such  will  be  the  result  of  submission  to  God's  Provi- 
dence in  this  sore  bereavement.  In  the  end  it  will 
prove  to  have  been  the  best   for  an   almost  broken- 

(35) 


FUNERAL  ADDRESSES. 

hearted  mother,  and  for  sorely  afflicted  sisters,  and  for 
a  grieving  church,  and  for  a  sorrowing  community. 
And  for  our  departed  brother,  this  sudden  home-taking 
will  be  supremely  best. 

"Servant  of  God — well  done, 

Rest  from  thy  loved  employ; 
The  battle  fought,  the  victory  won, 
Enter  thy  Master's  joy." 


(36) 


IV.    TRIBUTES. 


[By  Miss  S.  O.  H.  Dickson,  Winston- Salem,  January  5,  1904I 


IN  MEMORIAM— MY  PASTOR. 


No  flowers  I  took  to  lay  upon  thy  bier, 

Instead  I  place  this  simple  tribute  here. 

The  seed-thoughts  in  my  sorrowing  heart  were  sown 

Which  blossomed  into  words  I've  made  my  own. 

So  here  are  pansies— pleasant  memories  culled 
Of  helpful  words,  and  kindly  deeds  that  lulled 
The  troubled  fancies  which  thou  wouldst  beguile, 
And  every  one  bears  in  its  heart — a  smile ! 

Like  violets  I  count  the  words  which  filled 
The  air  with  fragrant  promises  that  stilled 
Rebellious  murmurings  and  turned  my  eyes 
Unto  the  rest  and  peace  beyond  the  skies. 

And  here— ah,  here  a  laurel  wreath  I  place, 
Won  in  the  fight  for  God  in  life's  stern  race. 
Who  faithful  fights,  and  patient  courage  shows 
He  can  be  generous  even  to  his  foes. 

No  need  hast  thou  for  earthly,  withering  flowers, 
No  need  for  human  sympathy  like  ours. 
Yet  still,  that  all  may  know  I  grieve  for  thee 
I  bring  this  tribute  of  my  loyalty. 

(37) 


TRIBUTES. 

[From  the   Winston-Salem  Journal.] 


IN  the  death  of  Dr.  R.  E.  Caldwell,  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church,  this  city,  society  loses  a  good  man, 
an  active  man,  a  congenial  man.  The  city  loses  a  strong 
friend  and  the  church  a  faithful,  zealous  pastor. 

There  was  much  in  his  life  worth  studying.  He  was 
not  only  devoutly  religious,  but  a  Christian,  and  car- 
ried that  Christianity  into  his  daily  life.  He  loved  his 
church  and  was  full  of  zeal  for  its  advancement.  With 
it  all  he  was  modest  but  firm  and  never  uncongenial. 
He  did  not  wear  a  long  face  or  cultivate  an  austere 
manner.  He  was  natural  and  happy.  He  got  comfort 
out  of  his  Christianity.  If  he  worried  few  knew  it.  He 
opened  his  lips  and  let  the  sunshine  pour  in.  He  was 
a  good  friend,  a  man  of  hearty  handshakes ;  so  much 
of  a  philosopher  that  it  is  said  that  no  one  ever  saw 
him  with  his  temper  ruffled. 

For  nearly  twenty  years  he  preached  the  gospel. 
They  were  years  of  usefulness,  of  honor  and  dignity. 

As  pastor,  hundreds  have  listened  to  his  plain,  sensi- 
ble, expositions  of  divine  truth,  and  have  been  led  to  a 
realization  of  the  true  end  of  the  creation  of  man,  "to 
glorify  God  and  enjoy  Him  forever." 

He  died  in  the  full  vigor  of  manhood :  At  a  time  as 
it  appears  to  mankind,  when  he  was  best  fitted  by  expe- 
rience and  growth  in  grace  to  accomplish  most  good 
in  winning  men  to  paths  of  truth  and  virtue.  But  He 
who  has  ordained  that  all  things  shall  work  together 

(88) 


TRIBUTES. 

for  good  to  them  that  love  Him  and  serve  Him  has  re- 
moved him,  and  grief  and  regret  and  disappointment 
must  be  lost  in  obedience  to  that  cardinal  principle  of 
Christian  duty,  which  teaches  us  to  say,  "Thy  will  be 
done." 

And  he  died  crowned  with  honor,  loving  and  being 
loved,  and  left  the  world  better  for  his  having  lived. 


[From  the  Winston-Salem  Sentinel.] 


DEATH  OF  DR.  CALDWELL. 


The  community  was  deeply  shocked  and  inexpressi- 
bly grieved  yesterday  when  the  intelligence  came  that 
Dr.  Robert  Ernest  Caldwell  was  dead.  The  news  was 
almost  entirely  unexpected.  Although  it  was  known 
that  he  had  undergone  a  surgical  operation,  it  was 
thought  that  he  was  in  no  danger. 

Dr.  Caldwell's  death  is  a  severe  loss  to  his  congrega- 
tion and  to  Winston-Salem.  He  was  an  able  preacher 
and  a  faithful,  zealous  guardian  of  his  flock.  Devo- 
ted to  his  work,  his  church  grew  and  prospered.  He 
labored  earnestly  for  the  moral  welfare  of  the  whole 
city,  and  his  influence  was  potent  in  shaping  public 
affairs. 

He  was  a  consecrated  Christian.  He  was  always 
amiable  and  had  a  pleasant  greeting  for  everybody 
that  he  met.     His  life  was  exemplary,  his  great  heart 

(39) 


TRIBUTES. 

was  wrapped  up  in  his  work  and  he  has  richly  earned 
his  reward  in  the  mansion  in  the  skies. 


[From  the  Charlotte  Daily  Observer.] 


The  tidings  of  the  death  of  Rev.  Robert  Ernest  Cald- 
well, D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of 
Winston,  will  be  received  with  deep  regret  by  many  in 
the  State.  He  was  a  man  of  force,  a  consecrated  Chris- 
tian, zealous  in  his  work,  amiable,  sweet  of  spirit.  Dr. 
Caldwell  was  a  native  of  Statesville,  but  of  the  Meck- 
lenburg family  of  that  name.  His  father,  the  late  Wal- 
ter P.  Caldwell,  was  born  in  this  county,  but  spent  the 
greater  part  of  his  adult  life  in  Statesville,  was  for 
many  years  solicitor  of  that  district,  was  a  lawyer  of 
ability  and  as  clean-cut  a  gentleman  as  ever  lived.  Dr. 
Caldwell  was  never  married,  but  a  devoted  mother  and 
several  sisters  survive  him. 


[Winston  Correspondent  Charlotte  Observer.] 


Sunday  forenoon  a  shadow  deeper  and  darker  than 
the  Twin  City  had  ever  known  before  fell  upon  the 
whole  community,  when  the  news  flashed  over  the 
wires  that  Rev.  Robert  Ernest  Caldwell  had  succumbed 
to  an  operation  performed  for  appendicitis  in  a  Phila- 


(40) 


TRIBUTES. 

delphia  hospital.  It  seemed  incredible,  and  the  whole 
community  spoke  in  hushed,  choked  voices  of  the  un- 
speakable loss  his  death  would  entail.  Such  grief  and 
sympathy  as  are  felt  for  the  stricken  mother  and  be- 
reaved sisters  have  seldom  stirred  the  hearts  of  any 
people,  and  well  may  we  sorrow,  for  a  more  loyal, 
devoted,  faithful  and  efficient  pastor  never  served  a 
flock.  His  sweet,  sunny,  brave  nature,  his  untiring 
service  and  zeal,  and  his  usefulness  and  efficiency  in 
his  Church,  all  combined  to  win  him  friends  among  all 
sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  and  we  may  truly  say  his 
friends  were  co-extensive  with  his  acquaintance. 

Hard,  indeed,  will  be  the  task  of  filling  in  a  satisfac- 
tory manner  the  pulpit  left  vacant  by  Dr.  Caldwell's 
death.  The  Presbyterian  Church  is  rich  in  her  scholarly 
and  consecrated  ministry,  but  it  will  be  none  the  less 
hard  to  find  a  fitting  successor  to  the  efficient  and  de- 
voted worker  who  has  passed  to  his  rest. 

The  Statesville  Landmark,  in  referring  to  the  death 
of  Dr.  Caldwell  says :  "The  news  of  his  death  will  bring 
sorrow  to  many  people  in  Statesville,  who  knew  him 
and  loved  him.  He  was  a  son  of  the  late  Walter  P. 
Caldwell,  a  well  known  lawyer,  who  for  twelve  years 
served  as  solicitor  of  this  district.  Many  residents  of 
the  town  knew  both  father  and  son  intimately.  Two 
years  ago  last  fall  Dr.  Caldwell  conducted  a  revival  in 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  here,  which  was  very 
successful.  Large  numbers  professed  conversion  and 
joined  the  church  under  his  preaching.    He  was  an  able 

(41) 


TRIBUTES. 

preacher,  a  pleasant  and  agreeable  gentleman  and  ex- 
ceedingly popular  wherever  known." 


[From  the  Christian  Observer,  Louisville,  Ky.] 
January  13,  1904. 


DEATH  OF  REV.  R.  E.  CALDWELL,  D.  D. 


The  people  of  Kentucky  remember  with  tender  affec- 
tion and  high  regard  the  former  pastor  of  the  Highland 
Presbyterian  Church,  Rev.  Robert  Ernest  Caldwell. 
From  1884  to  1886  he  labored  with  the  young  church 
at  South  Frankfort,  Ky.,  and  then  from  1888  to  1892 
with  the  church  at  the  east  end  of  Broadway,  in  Louis- 
ville. His  bright,  cheery  face,  his  pleasant  greeting,  his 
concentration  of  aim  on  the  upbuilding  of  his  church — 
these  all  remain  as  fresh  memories  to  the  people  of 
Louisville. 

Recently  he  has  been  troubled  with  symptoms  of 
threatened  appendicitis.  Two  weeks  ago  he  went  to 
Philadelphia  to  consult  a  physician.  The  operation 
seems  to  have  given  a  shock  to  his  system  from  which 
he  did  not  rally,  and  about  half-past  three  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  the  first  Sunday  of  1904,  he  was  taken 
to  the  mansions  above. 

Dr.  Caldwell  never  married.  His  mother  and  sister 
ever  maintained  for  him  the  home    life,    which    is    so 

(42) 


TRIBUTES. 


essential  to  a  preacher's  highest  usefulness.  But  he  was 
always  effective  in  winning  the  young  people.  As  a 
preacher,  he  was  instructive  and  attractive.  As  a  man, 
he  was  full  of  noble  purposes  and  useful  deeds. 


[From  the  Presbyterian  Standard,  Charlotte,  N.  C.l 


The  editor  of  the  Standard  feels  a  personal  sorrow 
in  the  death  of  Dr.  Caldwell.  We  had  known  each 
other  since  his  seminary  and  our  college  days  coin- 
cided at  Hampden-Sidney  and  his  career  in  this  Synod 
has  been  followed  with  much  interest  since  he  came  to 
us  from  Kentucky,  came  back  home,  as  he  was  a  native 
of  North  Carolina. 

As  preacher,  evangelist,  pastor  and  presbyter,  Dr. 
Caldwell  filled  a  large  place  in  the  Southern  Church. 
The  Synod  of  North  Carolina  fittingly  recognized  his 
worth  in  making  him  the  Moderator  at  is  meeting  in 
Charlotte,  a  position  which  he  filled  with  credit  to  him- 
self and  honor  to  the  Synod. 

He  was  a  man  of  most  lovable  traits  of  character  and 
the  outpourings  of  grief  from  his  congregation  have 
been  the  best  test  of  their  real  affection.  We  received 
a  letter  from  him  the  day  before  the  operation,  to  which 
he  finally  succumbed.  He  was  most  cheerful  over  the 
outcome,  said  he  expected  to  be  in  his  pulpit  again  in 
four  weeks,  and  the  letter  was  taken  up  with  the  details 
of  the  trip  to  the  Presbyterian  Alliance  at  Liverpool 

(43) 


TRIBUTES. 

that  we  had  planned  together.  And  now  he  has  gone 
the  long  journey,  from  whose  bourne  but  one  Traveler 
has  ever  returned,  bringing  life  and  immortality  to 
light  in  His  gospel.  Let  us  not  say  that  our  brother 
was  cut  off  in  his  prime.  Let  us  rather  think  that  "His 
servants  shall  serve  Him." 


[From  the  Raleigh  News  and  Observer.] 


A  NOBLE  LIFE  CLOSED. 


The  sad  news  of  the  death  of  Rev.  R.  E.  Caldwell, 
D.  D.,  Presbyterian  pastor  at  Winston-Salem,  will  carry 
the  deepest  regret  to  his  hundreds  of  friends.  At  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  was  educated, 
he  was  universally  popular,  and  made  many  lasting 
friendships.  In  the  busy  pastorate,  where  he  had 
already  won  a  large  measure  of  success,  he  was  all  that 
our  ideals  demanded  in  a  preacher — able  in  the  pulpit, 
sympathetic  in  the  homes  of  suffering  and  sorrow, 
sunny-tempered  and  joyous  in  homes  of  pleasure,  being 
"all  things  to  all  men"  in  the  true  Pauline  sense.  He 
had  never  married  and  was  a  model  son  and  brother. 
He  has  fallen  before  he  has  reached  middle  life,  but  it 
cannot  be  said  his  life  is  unfinished.  No  man  dies  be- 
fore his  time.  Happy  the  man  whose  short  life  is 
crowned  with  the  loving  service  and  noble  deeds  that 
filled  the  life  of  Dr.  Caldwell.     He  was  ready,  for  he 

(44) 


TRIBUTES. 

lived  daily  in  the  presence  of  his  Master.  When  he 
"put  out  to  sea"  and  met  his  "Pilot  lace  to  face,"  he 
knew  that  the  sea  of  eternity  upon  which  he  would 
enter  would  be  calm  and  serene  and  he  could  walk 
upon  its  quiet  bosom  with  his  Pilot. 


[From  the  Greensboro  Record.] 


A  LOVABLE  MAN. 


The  Presbyterian  Church  suffers  a  distinct  loss  in  the 
death  of  Rev.  R.  E.  Caldwell,  D.  D.  He  was  a  brainy 
man,  a  hard  worker,  systematic,  and  kept  always  at  it. 
He  had  been  at  Winston  ten  years  and  his  congrega- 
tion is  well-nigh  heart-broken  over  his  untimely  death. 
He  was  a  son  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Greensboro,  having  studied  and  entered  the  ministry 
under  its  guardianship,  and  the  people  of  this  place 
who  knew  and  loved  him  are  as  deeply  grieved  as  his 
own  congregation.  Pie  was  never  married,  but  devo- 
ted his  life  to  the  comfort  of  his  aged  mother.  He  had 
a  genial  smile  for  every  one  and  was  a  lovable  man 
in  every  respect. 

(46) 


TRIBUTES. 

[From  the  Greensboro  Telegram.] 


WILL  BE  SORELY  MISSED. 


Greensboro  and  section  have  seldom  been  so  severely 
shocked  at  a  death  as  at  that  of  Dr.  R.  E.  Caldwell,  late 
pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Winston. 
This  was  a  token  of  the  prominence  and  worth  of  the 
man.  Having  led  a  most  useful  and  godly  life,  he  will 
be  sorely  missed. 


[From  the  Charlotte  Chronicle.] 


ONE  OF  THE  MASTER'S  FAITHFUL 
SERVANTS. 


One  of  the  ablest  ministers  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  this  State,  and  one  of  the  most  lovable  of 
men,  passed  away  in  the  death  of  Rev.  Dr.  Caldwell, 
pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Winston, 
which  occurred  Sunday  morning,  in  Philadelphia.  His 
death  is  an  event  that  will  be  mourned  by  all  who  knew 
him.  One  of  the  Master's  most  faithful  servants  has 
been  called  from  his  labors  in  the  vineyard. 

(46) 


TRIBUTES. 

A   BEAUTIFUL  TRIBUTE  TO   REV.   ROBERT 
E.  CALDWELL,  D.  D. 


Some  of  the  friends  of  his  early  youth  have  mourned 
here  in  Massachusetts  the  loss  to  our  Southern  church 
in  the  death  of  Rev.  Robert  E.  Caldwell.  We  have 
recalled  his  bright  and  interesting  personality  during 
his  college  days  in  Chapel  Hill,  and  later  how  that 
interest  and  friendship  was  heightened  by  the  sur- 
prising news  that  his  life  was  to  be  consecrated  to  the 
church. 

And  we  have  followed  his  career  until  he  has  been 
caught  upward  and  lost  to  our  view. 

As  we  stand  "gazing  up  into  Heaven  after  him," 
we  pray  a  blessing  upon  those  dear  to  him  left  behind. 

Julia  Spencer  Love. 

Cambridge,  Mass. 


[Philadelphia  Correspondent  to   The  Moravian,   Bethlehem, 
Pa.,  Jan.  7.  1904.] 


The  departure  in  the  early  morning  of  the  first  Sun- 
day in  the  new  year  of  the  Rev.  R.  E.  Caldwell,  of 
Winston-Salem,  North  Carolina,  filled  our  own  as  it 
will  have  filled  the  heart  of  the  entire  community  in 
which  he  lived  and  labored  so  long  as  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  with  the  deepest  sorrow.  Our 
friend  and  brother  had  come  to  our  city  only  a  few 

(47) 


TRIBUTES. 

days  previous  to  his  departure  which  followed  an  ope- 
ration for  appendicitis.  He  was  one  of  the  most  genial 
and  lovable  of  men,  and  one  whose  presence  will  be 
sadly  missed  not  alone  in  his  own  but  in  many  homes. 
How  beautifully  our  own  Montgomery  has  expressed 
our  own  feelings  in  his  touching  hymn : 

"Friend  after  friend  departs ; 
Who  hath  not  lost  a  friend? 
There  is  no  union  here  of  hearts, 
That  finds  not  here  an  end." 


[From  the  Memoribilia  of    1904 — Home    Moravian    Church, 
Salem,  N.  CJ 


On  January  6  we  committed  to  the  earth  amid  gen- 
eral sorrows  the  mortal  remains  of  our  dear  Dr.  Robert 
E.  Caldwell,  a  ripe  Christian  scholar,  an  able  preacher, 
a  great  worker  for  souls,  and  a  beautiful  spirit  in  every 
way. 


[Dr.  J.  B.  Alexander,  in  Charlotte  Observer.] 


Rev.  Robert  Ernest  Caldwell  had  every  advantage 
that  a  young  man  could  desire.  He  was  handsome 
and  had  perfect  manners,  was  easy  and  graceful.  He 
was  a  popular  and  most  lovable  minister  and  pastor. 
He  died  at  the  age  of  forty-five  years,  lamented  by  the 
whole  State. 

(48) 


TRIBUTES. 

[From  the  Union  Republican,  Winston-Salem.] 


Truly  a  beloved  pastor,  an  honored  citizen  and  a 
consecrated  representative  of  the  Master  has  suddenly 
and  unexpectedly  been  called  from  the  scenes  of  a  busy 
and  useful  life  to  his  eternal  reward.  In  the  meridian 
of  physical  manhood  and  vigor,  intellectually  gifted, 
and  loved  by  all,  his  death  causes  widespread  sorrow 
and  regret,  but  God  so  willed  and  we  bow  in  humble 
submission.  Dr.  Caldwell  has  fought  the  good  fight, 
and  is  wearing  the  victor's  crown.  Though  lost  to 
sight,  the  memory  of  the  good  he  has  done  as  a  minis- 
ter, citizen  and  friend  will  long  survive  him.  When 
the  summons  came  it  found  him  busy,  but  ready.  Let 
us  who  knew  him  well  emulate  his  example.  Then 
life  will  be  worth  the  living,  and  death  but  the  gateway 
to  joys  eternal. 


[Mt.  Airy  Correspondent,  Charlotte  Observer.] 


This  whole  community  was  shocked  and  grieved  to 
learn  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of  Rev.  R.  E.  Cald- 
well, of  Winston.  He  was  a  great  favorite  in  Mount 
Airy,  and  on  the  third  Sunday  of  this  month  he  was 
expected  to  dedicate  the  handsome  stone  chapel 
recently  built  by  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  the  rock 
quarries  near  the  town. 

(49) 


V.    MEMORIALS. 


[Memorial  by  Synod  of  North  Carolina  at  its  Ninety-first 
Annual  Session  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Durham,  Novem- 
ber, 1904.  Prepared  by  Rev.  R.  F.  Campbell,  D.  D.,  of  Ashville, 
North  Carolina.] 


IN  MEMORIAM. 


ROBERT  ERNEST  CALDWELL  was  born  Octo- 
ber 18,  1858,  and  died  in  Philadelphia  January 
3,  1904,  after  a  serious  surgical  operation. 

Dr.  Caldwell  was  descended  from  a  long  line  of 
distinguished  Presbyterian  ministers,  among  whom 
were  the  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander  Craighead  and  the  Rev. 
Dr.  David  Caldwell,  whose  names  are  indissolubly 
linked  with  all  that  is  most  glorious  in  the  early  history 
of  Presbyterianism  in  North  Carolina. 

After  spending  three  years  in  study  at  the  State 
University,  Mr.  Caldwell  entered  the  famous  law 
school  of  Judges  Dick  and  Dillard  at  Greensboro, 
intending  to  devote  himself  to  the  profession  that  had 
been  graced  by  his  distinguished  father,  the  Hon.  Wal- 
ter Pharr  Caldwell.    But  before  he  had  completed  his 

(50) 


MEMORIALS. 

course  of  study  in  the  law,  there  came  to  him  a  louder 
call,  which  echoed  and  re-echoed  in  his  heart  in  the 
solemn  refrain,  "Woe  is  me,  if  I  preach  not  the  Gos- 
pel !"  In  obedience  to  this  call,  he  entered  Union 
Seminary,  Virginia,  in  the  fall  of  1881,  and  after  com- 
pleting the  full  course  in  this  institution,  he  took  a 
year's  post-graduate  work  at  Princeton. 

He  was  licensed  by  Orange  Presbytery  in  the  spring 
of  1884,  and  later,  in  the  same  year,  was  ordained  by 
Louisville  Presbytery  and  installed  the  first  pastor  of 
South  Frankfort  Church,  Kentucky. 

In  1900  Mr.  Caldwell  received  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Divinity  from  Central  University,  which  in  confer- 
ring this  honor  upon  him  was  only  setting  its  seal  to 
the  testimony  of  the  Presbyterians  of  his  adopted  State 
to  his  ability  and  worth. 

The  larger  part  of  Dr.  Caldwell's  ministry  was  spent 
at  Winston,  North  Carolina,  where  for  eleven  years, 
as  pastor  of  one  of  the  most  important  churches  of  the 
Synod,  he  found  an  ample  field  for  the  exercise  of  his 
rare  gifts.  During  his  pastorate  at  Winston,  more 
than  five  hundred  new  members  were  added  to  the 
church  and  over  $50,000  was  contributed  to  ecclesi- 
astical and  benevolent  causes. 

In  addition  to  his  laborious  work  as  pastor,  he  was 
one  of  the  most  faithful  and  efficient  members  of  his 
Presbytery  and  of  the  Synod  of  North  Carolina,  and 
his  brethren  in  these  bodies  will  miss  his  wise  counsel 
and  his  energetic  and  unselfish  service. 

(51) 


MEMORIALS. 

Dr.  Caldwell  was  "a  man  of  cheerful  yesterdays  and 
confident  tomorrows,"  full  of  magnetic  optimism  and 
warm  comradeship.  The  cordial  handsake,  the  con- 
tagious laugh,  the  sunshine  of  his  face,  as  free  and 
spontaneous  as  the  light  of  day, — who  that  knew  him 
can  ever  forget  these?  And,  best  of  all,  "the  beauty 
of  the  Lord  his  God  was  upon  him,"  shedding  forth  a 
holy  "light  that  never  was  on  sea  or  land." 


[Memorial  by  Orange  Presbytery  during  the  meeting  in  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  Greensboro,  N.  C,  April  13,  1904.] 


IN  MEMORIAM. 


The  Rev.  Robert  Ernest  Caldwell,  D.  D.,  whose 
lamented  death  took  place  in  Philadelphia  on  January 
3,  1904,  at  3.30  o'clock  a.  m.,  was  born  October  18, 
1858.  His  death  occurred  when  he  was  in  the  prime 
of  his  life  and  usefulness  at  a  little  more  than  forty- 
five  years  of  age.  He  died  far  away  from  home,  having 
submitted  to  a  serious  surgical  operation.  We  feel 
assured  his  end  was  peace,  and  that  he  calmly  com- 
mitted his  soul  into  his  Saviour's  hands. 

Dr.  Caldwell  traced  his  descent  through  a  long  and 
illustrious  line  of  Presbyterian  ministers,  running  back 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years  to  the  time  when  the 
family  came,  first  from  Scotland  to  the  north  of  Ire- 
land, and  thence  to  America.    In  all  this  time  his  father 

(52) 


MEMORIALS. 

was  the  single  exception  in  the  lineal  descent  when  his 
ancestors  were  not  preachers.  Some  of  them  have 
been  greatly  distinguished  in  the  work  of  planting  and 
developing  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  North  Caro- 
lina. Dr.  Alexander  Craighead,  one  of  his  ancestors, 
was  the  first  Presbyterian  minister  in  western  North 
Carolina,  and  the  third  in  the  State.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
David  Caldwell — "Clarum  et  venerabile  nomen" — the 
great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  memorial 
sketch,  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  and  success- 
ful and  useful  ministers  the  Church  has  ever  had  in  the 
State.  He  organized  Buffalo  and  Alamance  Churches 
in  this  county  (Guilford),  and  was  their  first  pastor, 
and  at  Alamance  his  pastorate  covered  the  long  period 
of  sixty  years.  His  son,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Caldwell, 
was  for  many  years  the  beloved  and  successful  pastor 
of  Sugar  Creek  Church  in  Mecklenburg  Presbytery. 
His  son,  the  Hon.  Walter  Pharr  Caldwell,  was  an 
eminent  solictor  and  served  as  district  attorney  in  the 
western  district  of  North  Carolina.  It  is  only  what 
we  might  expect  that  one  who  had  a  heritage  of  such 
a  long  line  of  pious  and  consecrated  ancestors — "who 
lured  to  brighter  worlds  and  led  the  way" — should 
follow  in  their  footsteps,  and  give  himself  to  the  service 
of  the  Master. 

Bro.  Caldwell  spent  his  boyhood  in  Statesville,  mov- 
ing to  Greensboro  when  he  was  about  fifteen  years  of 
age.  He  was  prepared  for  college  in  Lenoir,  thence  he 
went  to  Chapel  Hill,  and  spent  three  years  in  a  special 

(53) 


MEMORIALS. 

course  at  the  University.  His  earlier  plan  was  to 
become  a  lawyer,  but  after  studying  for  a  while  in  the 
law  school  of  Judges  Dick  and  Dillard,  both  of  whom 
were  distinguished  jurists,  and  both  elders  in  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  this  city  (Greensboro),  he 
heard  the  call  to  a  grander  service,  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel, and  instantly  said :  "Here  am  I,  Lord,  send  me." 
After  taking  the  full  course  at  Union  Seminary,  Vir- 
ginia, and  a  year  of  post-graduate  work  at  Princeton, 
New  Jersey,  he  was  licensed  by  Orange  Presbytery 
in  1884,  and  later  in  the  same  year  he  was  ordained 
by  Louisville  Presbytery  and  installed  the  first  pastor 
of  South  Frankfort  Church,  Kentucky.  Here  and  in 
other  places  he  was  successful,  but  his  great  work  was 
done  at  Winston,  North  Carolina,  where  for  eleven 
years,  until  his  untimely  death,  he  was  pastor  of  one 
of  the  largest  and  most  influential  churches  of  this 
Presbytery.  His  work  here  was  large  and  faithful  and 
successful.  During  this  pastorate  more  than  five 
hundred  new  members  were  receievd,  and  more  than 
fifty  thousand  dollars  were  contributed  to  all  the  causes 
of  the  Church.  As  pastor  of  that  church  his  work  was 
solid  and  substantial,  and  will  stand  as  a  lasting  monu- 
ment to  his  memory.  His  people  were  devoted  to  him, 
and  the  entire  community,  irrespective  of  denomina- 
tion, wept  in  sadness  when  the  sorrowful  tidings  came 
that  Sunday  morning  that  Dr.  Caldwell  had  passed  up 
to  be  forever  with  his  Lord. 

In  1900  Bro.  Caldwell  received  the  degree  of  Doctor 

(54) 


MEMORIALS. 

of  Divinity  from  Central  University,  Kentucky,  and 
the  honor  fell  on  worthy  shoulders  and  was  modestly 
worn.  In  the  work  of  the  Presbytery  and  Synod,  few 
of  the  brethren  were  more  useful.  He  was  always 
ready  to  do  his  part  in  the  service  of  the  Church.  He 
was  a  fine  parliamentarian,  a  wise  counsellor,  a  safe 
and  prudent  leader,  and  an  energetic  and  active  worker. 
He  was  kind  and  charitable  in  all  his  thoughts.  There 
was  no  guile  or  malice  in  his  heart.  We  shall  sadly 
miss  him  in  all  the  work  of  the  Presbytery ;  there  is  a 
big  vacuum  created  by  his  death,  and  our  hearts  are  all 
sad  over  a  great  bereavement,  for  we  all  loved  Ernest 
Caldwell.  We  shall  miss  his  hearty  hand-shake,  his 
merry  smile,  the  sunshine  of  his  disposition,  his  warm 
and  ready  sympathy  from  a  heart  that  rilled  all  his 
bosom,  and,  above  all,  his  deep  and  contagious  spiritu- 
ality. Let  us  who  are  left  a  little  longer  in  the  work 
stand  closer  together,  be  more  in  touch  with  one 
another  and  be  more  faithful  in  every  good  word  and 
work. 

Egbert  W.  Smith, 
B.  W.  Mebane, 
W.  F.  Carter, 

Committee. 

On  the  adoption  of  the  Memorial,  the  Rev.  D.  I. 
Craig,  of  Reidsville,  said,  in  substance : 

Brethren  :  As  we  are  gathered  here  today  in  this 
beautiful  church,  and  have  listened  to  this  beautiful 

-"  (65) 


MEMORIALS. 

and  fitting  Memorial,  read  by  Dr.  Mebane,  of  our 
deceased  brother,  my  heart  and  soul  have  been  stirred 
within  me.  I  have  thought  of  the  past,  and  of  the 
future,  and  have  wondered  if  the  "spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect"  are  permitted  to  look  back  upon  the 
scenes  of  earth,  and  to  be  consciously  present  in  an 
assembly  like  this !  I  recall  the  venerable  form  and 
face  of  Dr.  Smith,  the  former  pastor  of  this  church, 
as  I  have  seen  him  sit  in  that  chair,  and  as  I  hear  the 
very  tones  of  his  voice  in  prayer  and  praise  to  God. 
He  was  the  faithful  pastor  and  wise  teacher  of  the 
boy — the  merry,  happy-hearted  boy — Ernest  Caldwell, 
who  was  once  a  member  of  this  church,  and  whose 
noble  life  we  remember  today,  and  sadly  lament  its 
untimely  end.  They  are  gone,  teacher  and  pupil,  from 
this  beautiful  earthly  temple,  to  the  "Temple  of  God 
not  made  with  hands  eternal  in  the  heavens ;"  and 
within  these  walls  seem  to  be  a  proper  place  to  bear 
testimony  to  the  value,  the  beauty,  and  the  simplicity 
of  that  noble  life  so  suddenly  gone  from  us. 

Dr.  Caldwell  was  of  a  nature  and  temperament 
easily  approached  by  any  one,  and  while  he  was  uni- 
versally popular,  yet  it  was  only  those  who  knew  him 
best  who  loved  him  most. 

He  was  naturally  full  of  life,  fun  and  merry-hearted- 
ness — God  made  him  so,  and  he  usually  looked  on  the 
bright  side  of  things,  but  he  had  his  dark  days,  his 
clouds  and  shadows,  like  us  all;  and  it  was  then, 
in  times  of  deep  reflection  and  sober  thought,  that  the 

(56) 


MEMORIALS. 

beauty  and  force  of  his  character  were  best  seen.  In 
the  midst  of  perplexities  and  in  the  face  of  stern  duty, 
his  soul  seemed  to  become  transparent,  and  his  earnest 
desire  to  do  right,  his  gentleness  and  tenderness  of 
spirit,  and  his  simple  and  abiding  faith  in  God,  were 
seen  and  felt  in  such  a  manner  as  to  draw  men  to  him 
and  to  make  his  influence  a  strong  and  lasting  power 
for  good.  It  was  this  guileless  and  childlike  spirit, 
after  the  pattern  of  his  Master,  seen  in  the  intellectually 
strong  man,  and  always  accompanied  by  a  hearty  and 
friendly  greeting,  which  made  him  conspicuous  and 
lovable  among  men,  and  successful  in  winning  souls 
for  the  Master. 

He  was  a  conspicuous  factor  in  the  Synod  of  North 
Carolina,  having  often  held  positions  of  trust,  and 
having  once  been  honored  by  being  made  its  Moder- 
ator, and  his  preaching  was  widely  and  favorably 
known  as  being  sound,  practical  and  impressive.  His 
worth  and  usefulness  in  this  Presbytery  are  well  known 
by  us  all,  and  indeed  he  will  be  missed  by  all  the 
Church  in  North  Carolina. 

Yes,  we  shall  miss  him,  as  has  been  beautifully 
said  in  that  Memorial :  "We  shall  miss  his  hearty 
handshake,  his  merry  smile,  the  sunshine  of  his  dispo- 
sition, and  the  warm  and  ready  sympathy  that  filled 
all  his  bosom" ;  and  yet,  "he  being  dead,  yet  speaketh," 
for  the  influence  and  usefulness  of  his  life  can  never 
die.    I  thank  God  that  he  lived,  and  that  it  was  my  lot 

(57) 


MEMORIALS. 

to  know  him  as  a  friend  and  as  a  brother  beloved  in 
the  Lord. 


"With  us  his  name  shall  live 

Through  long  succeeding  years, 
Embalmed  with  all  our  hearts  can  give, 
Our  praises  and  our  tears." 


[Memorial  by  Session  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Win- 
ston-Salem, N.  C.] 


IN  MEMORIAM. 


Rev,  R.  E.  Caldwell,  D.  D. 


We,  the  elders  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Winston,  North  Carolina,  desire  to  offer  a  tribute  of 
love  to  the  memory  of  our  beloved  pastor,  who  has  been 
so  suddenly  called  away  to  enter  the  House  not  made 
with  hands,  eternal  in  the  Heavens. 

While  the  sadness  and  sorrow,  the  breavement  and 
loss,  are  ours,  we  are  cheered  by  the  thoughts  of  life's 
work  well  done,  of  a  victor's  crown,  of  the  glories  of 
immortal  life,  of  the  everlasting  peace  and  joy  into 
which  he  has  entered. 

During  the  nearly  eleven  years  of  intimate  associa- 
tion, we  would  bear  testimony  to  his  consecrated  loy- 
alty to  his  church ;  to  his  devoted  energy  in  the  work 
for  the  Master  whom  he  served ;  to  the  consciousness 

(58) 


MEMORIALS. 

of  the  sacred  responsibility  of  his  office  as  preacher 
and  pastor;  to  the  spirit  of  love  which  dominated  his 
life,  and  to  the  purity  of  his  life  as  he  walked  among 
men. 

His  influence  was  not  bounded  by  the  lines  of  his 
own  church ;  he  was  honored  and  esteemed  by  many 
of  all  faiths,  as  was  evidenced  by  the  many  expressions 
of  sympathy,  not  only  for  our  church  in  its  loss, 
but  of  high  esteem  and  appreciation  of  Dr.  Caldwell 
himself,  coming  from  every  part  of  the  community. 

As  a  citizen  he  stood  for  civic  righteousness  and 
everything  that  would  promote  the  moral  and  good 
order  of  his  community. 

He  was  a  very  positive  believer  in  the  correctness 
of  the  peculiar  creeds  and  policy  of  his  own  church, 
but  he  manifested  to  his  fellow  Christians  of  other 
communions  a  liberal  spirit,  sincere  regard  and  the 
kindest  courtesy;  and  few  pastors  have  enjoyed  more 
highly  than  he  did  the  love  and  esteem  of  his  fellow 
pastors. 

In  the  death  of  Dr.  Caldwell,  there  is  a  personal  loss 
to  ourselves,  a  loss  to  this  church  and  community, 
but,  in  a  wider  sense,  there  is  a  loss  to  the  entire 
Church.  As  a  Presbyter  he  was  useful,  wise  and 
active  in  the  courts  of  his  Church,  and  the  many 
positions  of  trust  and  importance  he  filled  both  in 
Orange  Presbytery  and  in  the  Synod,  testified  to  the 
confidence  and  regard    in  which  he  was  held. 

As  a  preacher  he  was  remarkably  clear  and  forceful 

(59) 


MEMORIALS. 

in  the  presentation  of  the  Gospel  themes,  and  he  was 
never  more  so  than  when  pressing  upon  men  the  call 
to  repentance  and  the  acceptance  of  salvation. 

As  a  pastor  and  friend,  visiting  the  homes  of  his 
people,  he  brought  his  genial,  cheerful  manner  and 
bright  countenance  to  cheer  the  sick  and  comfort  the 
sorrowing  and  afflicted  members  of  his  flock.  The 
poor  welcomed  him  as  a  friend,  and  found  his  visits 
a  benediction. 

His  labors  are  now  ended,  and  he  has  entered  into 
his  reward.  "Well  done,  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of 
thy  Lord." 

In  connection  with  the  foregoing,  we  would  offer 
the  following  resolutions : 

First,  Resolved,  That  while  we  feel  deeply  the  sud- 
den departure  of  our  pastor,  Rev.  Robert  Ernest  Cald- 
well, D.  D.,  on  Sunday  morning,  January  3,  1904,  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  under  circumstances  that 
appeal  most  strongly  to  our  sympathies,  yet  we  recog- 
nize the  Divine  Hand  and  Will,  and  do  bow  in  humble 
submission  to  Him  who  doeth  all  things  well. 

Second,  Resolved,  That  we  strive  to  emulate  his 
example  in  those  admirable  traits  which  tend  so  greatly 
to  enlarge  the  sentiments  and  feelings  of  Christian 
fellowship  and  which  promote  the  cause  of  Christianity 
among  our  fellow  men. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  our  proceedings  be  sent 
to  the  mother  of  our  beloved  pastor,  with  the  assurance 

(60) 


MEMORIALS. 

of  our  deepest  sympathy  and  our  earnest  prayer  that 
the  richest  blessing  of  our  gracious  Lord  and  the  pres- 
ence and  precious  ministry  of  the  Holy  Comforter 
may  ever  abide  with  her. 

T.  J.  Brown, 
J.  M.  Rogers, 
T.  A.  Wilson,* 
J.  W.  Shepherd, 
W.  B.  Carter, 
Thomas  Patterson. 
*Died  February  4,  1905. 


[Memorial  by  Board  of  Deacons  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  Winston-Salem,  N.  C] 


IN  MEMORIAM. 


Dr.  Robert.  E.  Caldwell. 


Whereas,  It  has  pleased  our  Heavenly  Father  to 
remove  from  us  our  beloved  pastor,  Rev.  Robert  E. 
Caldwell,  D.  D.,  whose  death  has  cast  a  shadow  of 
gloom  and  sorrow  over  the  hearts  of  all  who  knew  him  ; 
and 

Whereas,  We,  the  Board  of  Deacons  of  his  church, 
which  he  loved  so  well,  desire  to  offer  a  tribute  of  love, 
however  inadequate,  to  the  memory  of  our  departed 

(81) 


MEMORIALS. 

pastor  and  friend,  and  to  tender  our  heartfelt  sym- 
pathy to  his  bereaved  family ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  while  we  recognize  the  hand  of  a 
wise  and  merciful  God  in  this  sad  dispensation,  and 
humbly  bow  to  the  divine  will,  it  is  with  profound 
emotions  of  sorrow  that  we  contemplate  the  lamented 
death  of  our  pastor.  By  it  we  feel  the  personal  loss 
of  a  faithful  and  wise  counsellor  in  our  official  relations 
to  the  church,  as  well  as  the  loss  of  a  true  friend  in 
all  the  relations  of  life ;  the  Church,  the  loss  of  a  con- 
secrated, earnest  and  faithful  minister  and  pastor,  and 
the  community  the  loss  of  a  patriotic,  upright,  Christian 
citizen,  whose  kind  and  gentle  disposition  won  for  him 
the  love  and  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him. 

Resolved,  That  we  will  endeavor  to  emulate  the 
many  virtues  and  noble  qualities  of  our  deceased 
brother. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  sincere  and  heartfelt 
sympathy  to  his  loving  and  devoted  mother  and  sisters 
in  their  sad  bereavement. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  spread 
upon  our  minutes,  and  that  a  copy  be  sent  to  the  mother 
of  our  deceased  friend. 

E.  D.  Vaughn,  Chairman. 
D.  P.  Mast,  Secretary. 

(62) 


MEMORIALS. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Annex  Committee  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Winston,  held  at  the  office  of 
the  Wachovia  Loan  and  Trust  Company,  January  12, 
1904,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously 
adopted  and  ordered  to  be  spread  upon  the  minutes  of 
the  meeting: 

RESOLUTIONS. 


Inasmuch  as  it  has  pleased  the  Great  Head  of  the 
Church  to  call  to  his  reward  and  transfer  from  the 
visible  Church  on  earth  to  a  place  among  the  redeemed 
of  God  in  Heaven,  our  beloved  pastor,  Rev.  Robert  E. 
Caldwell ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  First,  That  while  we  feel  our  loss  almost 
irreparable,  and  our  hearts  are  heavy  with  grief,  yet 
we  trust  our  God,  and  bow  in  humble  submission  to 
His  divine  will,  feeling  He  will  not  leave  us  comfort- 
less nor  forsake  us  in  the  hour  of  our  great  need. 

Resolved,  Second,  That  we  push  to  a  speedy  comple- 
tion this  work  which  was  dear  to  the  heart  of  our 
deceased  pastor,  and  name  this  building  which  is  to 
be  erected  as  an  addition  to  our  church,  the  R.  E. 
Caldwell  Memorial  Building,  erecting  therein  a  suitable 
tablet  bearing  an  inscription  to  his  memory. 

Resolved,  Third,  That  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  com- 

(63) 


MEMORIALS. 

mittee  in  its  name  to  place  in  our  present  church  build- 
ing a  memorial  window  in  memory  of  Dr.  Caldwell. 
Annex  Committee  of  the 

First  Presbyterian  Church. 

Geo.   S.   Norfleet,   Chairman. 

Thos.  Maslin,  Sec.  and  Treas. 

E.  L.  Anderson. 

Robt.  C.  Norfleet. 

Geo.  T.  Brown. 

R.  W.  Gorrell. 

E.  W.  O'Hanlon. 


MEMORIAL. 


[By  the  Ladies  Aid  Society  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Win- 
ston-Salem, February  I,  1904.] 


We,  the  members  of  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society,  desire, 
to  express  with  sorrowing  hearts  our  love  and  esteem 
for  our  pastor,  Dr.  R.  E.  Caldwell,  and  to  render  a 
tribute  to  his  memory,  both  tender  and  true. 

The  tie  between  the  pastor  and  this  society  was 
possibly  closer  and  more  sympathetic  than  between 
any  other  organization  in  his  church. 

How  we  shall  miss  the  bright  and  radiant  face,  as 
he  so  often  stood  amongst  us,  full  of  the  work  in 
which  he  would  claim  our  aid  and  co-operation. 

(64) 


MEMORIALS. 

We  want  to  bear  record  to  his  unceasing  watchful- 
ness of  the  stranger,  the  poor,  and  the  wandering  in 
our  midst ;  to  his  constant  endeavor  to  make  us  a 
working  power  in  the  kingdom ;  to  his  loving  efforts  to 
secure  mutual  acquaintance  and  fellowship  between  all 
classes  of  his  flock. 

May  we  ever  be  grateful  for  the  memory  he  has  left 
us  of  a  hopeful,  joyous,  sunshiny  service  for  the  Mas- 
ter, as  well  for  its  courage  and  faithfulness.  May  we 
endeavor,  through  the  days  that  are  to  come,  to  fulfill 
in  ourselves  the  work  he  would  have  us  do,  deeds  of 
loving  kindness  and  tender  helpfulness  to  others. 

Resolved,  That  this  tribute  be  entered  upon  the  sec- 
retary's book,  and  that  a  copy  be  sent  to  dear  Mrs. 
Caldwell,  with  the  heartfelt  sympathy  of  this  Society. 

Mrs.  T.  A.  Wilson,  President. 

Mrs.  W.  P.  Reid,  Secretary. 


[Memorial  by  the  Ladies'  Foreign  Missions  Society  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Winston-Salem,  N.  CJ 


The  following  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the 
Ladies'  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  January  — ,  1904 : 

Whereas,  In  His  infinite  wisdom,  God  has  suddenly 
called  home  our  beloved  pastor,  Rev.  R.  E.  Caldwell, 
D.  D.,  thereby  making  us  realize  the  uncertainty  of  life, 
and  that  we  shall  no  more  have  his  earnest  prayers 

(65) 


MEMORIALS. 

and  his  unfailing  interest  in  our  work,  we  feel  that 
it  is  becoming  in  us  to  give  expression  to  our  love,  our 
sincere  grief,  and  our  sense  of  our  loss. 

Resolved,  Therefore,  that  while  we  mourn  with  a 
sorrow  as  sincere  as  it  is  deep,  we  would  still  endeavor 
to  submit  to  the  will  of  Him  who  we  are  sure  makes 
no  mistakes,  and  who,  in  the  person  of  the  Comforter, 
will  speak  words  of  comfort  to  us,  and  will  remind 
some  of  us  at  least,  that  the  parting  will  not  be  for 
long. 

Resolved,  That  through  all  our  remaining  lives  we 
will  be  grateful  to  God  for  the  example  of  zeal  and  of 
love  which  was  set  us,  and  we  pray  that  when  we  are 
called  to  go  we  may  be  able  to  look  back  on  lives  as 
faithful,  as  loving,  and  as  honored  as  his.  That  we 
may  recall  his  sunny  smile,  his  cheerful,  cordial  greet- 
ings, his  earnest  efforts  to  present  a  church  without 
spot  or  wrinkle,  and  that  we  may  thank  God  that  it 
was  our  privilege  to  have  worked  with  him  and  prayed 
with  him  for  the  upbuilding  of  Zion ;  and  that  we  may 
take  henceforth,  as  our  motto,  "Be  ye  also  ready." 

That  we  may  draw  nearer  to  God  and  Heaven,  since 
we  have  another  link  binding  us  to  the  Throne. 

That  we  desire,  as  a  society,  to  tender  our  heartfelt 
sympathy  and  love  to  her  upon  whom  the  blow  falls 
heaviest,  and  to  those  sisters  with  whom  we  sincerely 
grieve. 

That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  the  mother 

(66) 


MEMORIALS. 

and  sisters  of  our  pastor,  and  another  be  spread  upon 
the  minutes  of  this  Society. 

Mrs.  J.  M.  Rogers, 
S.  O'H.  Dickson, 

Committee. 


[Memorial  by  the  Wiley  Mission  Band.] 


The  Wiley  Mission  Band  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Winston  desire  to  give  a  tribute  of  love  to  their 
beloved  Pastor,  Dr.  Caldwell,  who  always  met  them 
with  a  smile  and  who  won  all  the  hearts  of  the  dear 
children  by  his  bright,  attractive  ways. 

Well  do  we  remember  when  we  gave  out  the  little 
blue  stockings  for  the  children's  Christmas  offering, 
how  he  asked  to  have  one  to  fill,  saying  he  wanted  to 
have  his  name  on  the  cradle  roll  of  the  Wiley  Band. 

He  always  encouraged  us  in  our  work  and  was  ever 
ready  to  help  us  plan  for  larger  work. 

With  his  encouragement  this  Band  took  a  fifty-dollar 
share  in  our  medical  work  in  Korea. 

Mrs.  C.  H.  Wiley, 

Leader. 
Mrs.  Mary  Norfleet  Shepherd, 

Treasurer. 

(67) 


MEMORIALS. 

[Memorial  by  the  D.  C.  Rankin  Missionary  Society.] 


In  the  death  of  our  beloved  Pastor,  Dr.  Caldwell,  we 
feel  that  not  only  has  our  Society  lost  a  staunch  friend, 
a  wise  counsellor,  an  ever-ready  helper,  but  that  the 
cause  of  missions  has  sustained  an  irreparable  loss. 

We  recall  with  what  earnestness  and  enthusiasm  Dr. 
Caldwell  labored  for  the  cause  we  represent,  how  ready 
and  willing  he  was  to  help  us  in  every  way  and  to 
encourage  us  in  our  work  of  spreading  the  gospel. 

We  feel  that  under  his  ministrations  our  zeal  for 
missions  was  deepened,  our  love  for  the  work  strength- 
ened and  enlarged. 

We  pray  that  the  memory  of  his  noble  life,  his  love 
for  the  Master,  his  zeal  for  His  work,  may  cause  us  to 
labor  more  faithfully,  more  zealously  in  our  work  as  a 
Society. 

Mary  Callum  Wiley, 
Mrs.  R.  C  Norfleet. 


[Memorial  by  the  Ministerial  Association  of  Winston-Salem, 
January  II,  1904.] 


Whereas,  It  has  pleased  our  Heavenly  Father  in  His 
wise  and  inscrutable  providence  to  remove  from  our 
Ministerial  Association,  and  our  community,  Dr.  Robert 
Ernest  Caldwell,  Pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  our  city.    Therefore ; 

(68) 


MEMORIALS. 

Resolved  First. — That  we  bow  with  humble  submis- 
sion to  the  will  of  Him  who  walks  in  the  midst  of 
the  golden  candlesticks,  and  does  with  His  servants 
what  seems  best  to  Him. 

Resolved  Second. — That  we  will  ever  cherish  his 
memory  as  a  brother  beloved,  as  an  able  Minister  of  the 
New  Testament,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth  and 
giving  to  every  one  his  portion  in  due  season,  as  a 
faithful  pastor  whose  unwearied  labors,  and  wholesome 
Christian  influence  wrought  mightily  for  good  in  our 
Twin  City. 

Resolved  Third. — That  we  put  on  record  our  appre- 
ciation of  his  presence,  his  power  and  influence  for 
good  while  among  us,  and  our  sense  of  personal  be- 
reavement and  loss  in  his  death. 

Resolved  Fourth. — That  we  will  emulate  his  manly 
virtues  and  imitate  his  example  as  he  imitated  the  ex- 
ample of  Christ. 

Resolved  Fifth. — That  we  tender  to  the  Church  of 
which  he  was  pastor  an  expression  of  our  sympathy  in 
their  sorrow,  and  our  sincere  desire  for  the  guidance 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  all  their  future  work. 

Resolved  Sixth. — That  we  commend  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  our  God,  the  devoted  Mother  and  Sisters  of 
our  dear  departed  brother. 

Resolved  Seventh. — That  a  copy  of  these  Resolu- 
tions be  spread  upon  our  Minutes,  sent  to  the  family  of 

(69) 


MEMORIALS. 

the  bereaved,  and  given  to  our  city  papers  for  publica- 
tion. 

Dr.  H.  A.  Brown, 

Rt.  Rev.  Edward  Rondthaler, 

Committee. 


RESOLUTIONS   OF  RESPECT  ADOPTED   BY 
WOMAN'S  MISSIONARY  UNION. 


At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Missionary  Union  of 
Orange  Presbytery  in  Westminster  Presbyterian 
Church,  Greensboro.  N.  C,  in  April,  1904,  resolutions 
of  respect  for  Rev.  Robert  Ernest  Caldwell,  the  late 
lamented  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Winston-Salem,  who  was  chairman  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions for  Orange  Presbytery,  were  adopted  as  follows : 

Whereas,  Since  our  last  annual  meeting  the  Rev 
Robert  Ernest  Caldwell,  D.  D.,  the  beloved  chairman  of 
the  Foreign  Missionary  Committee  of  Orange  Presby- 
tery has  been  called  from  earthly  ties  into  the  "Blest 
Communion  Fellowship  Divine" — we  therefore,  the 
members  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Union  of 
Orange  Presbytery  do  hereby  record  our  sorrowful 
conviction,  that  in  his  death  our  Union  has  lost  a  wise 
and  faithful  friend — the  cause  of  Missions  a  noble  ad- 
vocate. The  Church  of  Christ  a  consecrated  minister 
and  the  world,  a  golden-hearted  Christian  gentleman. 

(70) 


MEMORIALS. 

To  his  dear  mother  and  sisters,  and  the  wider  circle 
of  bereaved  relatives  we  offer  our  tender  sympathy.  In 
the  hush  of  this  great  bereavement,  we  pray  that  all 
of  us  may  hear : 

'That  inward,  that  unspoken  speech, 

That  greets  us  still  tho'  mortal  tongues  be  dust 
It  bids  us  do  the  work  that  they  laid  down, 
Take  up  the  song  where  they  broke  off  strains,  so  jour- 
neying 'till  we  reach  the  heavenly  town, 
Where  are  laid  up  our  treasures  and  our  crown, 
And  our  lost  ones  will  be  found  again." 


[From  The  Journal,  Winston-Salem,  N.  C,  Jan.  15,  1904.] 


MASONIC  HONORS. 


Resolutions  in  Memory  of  Dr.  R.  E.  Caldwell. 


By  Knights  Templar,  of  which  Order  He  was  Prelate 

— Heartfelt  Condolence  Tendered  to  Bereaved 

Relatives. 


The  late  R.  E.  Caldwell  was  a  distinguished  member 
of  the  Masonic  Order,  Knights  Templar.  By  this 
order  he  was  most  highly  esteemed  and  by  this  order 
he  was  laid  to  rest. 

Their  love  of  the  man  living  and  sorrow  occasioned 
by  his  death  is  expressed  in  the  following  preambles 
and  resolutions : 

(71) 


MEMORIALS. 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  our  Heavenly  Father  in 
His  all  wise  Providence  to  remove  from  earthly  scenes 
and  activity  and  gather  unto  Himself  our  dearly  be- 
loved prelate  and  frater,  Dr.  Robert  Ernest  Caldwell, 
and 

Whereas,  Piedmont  Commandery,  No.  6,  Knights 
Templar,  of  Winston,  N.  C,  feeling  keenly  the  loss 
it  has  sustained,  in  common  with  this  community  and 
the  Christian  world,  by  the  death  of  this  true  and 
consecrated  Christian  gentleman  and  Sir  Knight,  which 
in  our  poor  and  imperfect  understanding  seems  so 
untimely  and  unfortunate ;  and 

Whereas,  By  the  traditions  and  practice  of  our 
order  and  the  precepts  of  our  beloved  brother,  we  are 
taught  to  humbly  bow  in  meek  and  humble  submission 
to  the  will  of  Him  from  whom  comes  all  our  blessings 
and  whom  we  acknowledge  as  an  allwise  and  unerring 
Father. 

Resolved,  That  we  bow  in  humble  submission  to 
His  will,  and  recognize  that  our  loss,  great  and  irre- 
parable as  it  seems,  is  an  inestimable  gain  to  our  dear 
departed  brother  and  friend,  and  the  just  reward  to 
which  his  good  works,  while  on  earth,  entitle  him  as  a 
faithful  and  earnest  worker  in  the  vineyard  of  our 
Lord. 

Resolved,  Further,  that  we  will  ever  cherish  his 
memory  as  a  sweet  and  gentle  benediction  wherever 
and  whenever  it  was  our  good  fortune  to  come  within 

(72) 


MEMORIALS. 

his  presence;  his  every  thought  and  act  in  life  was  to 
make  the  world  better  and  brighter  and  men  nobler, 
and  we  shall  ever  count  it  a  blessing  that  we  were  per- 
mitted to  live  and  associate  with  such  a  brother  and  one 
who  so  well  exemplified  the  manly  Christian  virtues  of 
truth,  charity,  kindness  and  brotherly  love. 

Resolved,  further,  That  to  the  bereaved  mother  and 
sisters  we  tender  our  deep  and  sincere  condolence  and 
assure  them  of  our  heartfelt  sympathy  in  the  great 
loss  which  they  have  sustained. 

Resolved,  further,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions 
shall  be  incorporated  in  our  records,  a  copy  sent  to 
Mrs.  Caldwell  and  to  the  city  papers  for  publication. 

Piedmont  Commandery,  No.  6,  Knights  Templar. 

D.  P.  Mast, 

J.  K.   NORFLEET, 

J.  L.  Ludlow, 

Committee. 


[From  the  Daily  Sentinel,  Winston-Salem,  N.  C,  Jan.  21,  1904] 
A  BEAUTIFUL  TRIBUTE 


To  Memory  of  Rev.  R.  E.  Caldwell,  by  Masons. 


The  following  beautiful  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
Rev.  R.  E.  Caldwell  has  been  adopted  by  the  Winston 
Lodge,  No.  167,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. : 

(73) 


MEMORIALS. 

The  special  committee  appointed  by  Winston  Lodge, 
167,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  to  prepare  suitable  resolutions  on 
the  death  of  Brother  R.  E.  Caldwell,  beg  leave  to  sub- 
mit the  following  report : 

Brethren — Death  has  entered  our  ranks  and  taken 
from  us  one  of  our  most  worthy  and  esteemed  mem- 
bers— Brother  R.  E.  Caldwell.  While  our  .fraternity 
has  sustained  a  great  loss  we  bow  with  resignation  to 
the  decree  of  Providence  and  offer  this  tribute  of  reve- 
rence to  his  memory. 

Brother  Caldwell  possessed  in  a  striking  degree  all 
the  characteristics  of  a  lovable  man  and  successful  min- 
ister of  the  Gospel.  He  was  endowed  with  a  moral  and 
a  physical  courage  which  was  equal  to  every  emer- 
gency. Calm  amidst  excitement,  patient  under  trials, 
earnest  in  his  allegiance  wherever  it  rested,  loyal  to 
every  great  cause  and  work  he  was  engaged  in,  loyal 
to  his  state  and  town  and  loyal  to  his  God.  These 
noble  traits,  combined  with  a  sensitive  nature  and  a 
singularly  tender  heart,  showed  him  to  be  a  living 
exemplification  of  Masonic  virtue  and  graces. 

His  was  a  sunny  nature,  bright  and  beautiful.  His 
heart  was  attuned  to  gladness.  He  looked  for  the  best 
in  men  and  sought  to  make  the  world  joyous  and 
happy  by  sending  out  from  his  own  glad  heart  an  influ- 
ence that  lingered  in  our  memory  like  a  fragrant  flower, 
sweetening  the  memories,  the  thoughts,  the  feelings, 
the  affections,  the  temper  and  the  heart.  He  made  duty 
the  jewel  clasp  to  bind  the  beauties,  loves  and  hopes  of 

(74) 


MEMORIALS. 

earth's  fragrant  spring  time  to  the  spring  mount  of 
God,  with  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  toward  all, 
our  brother  has  passed  from  our  view.  We  shall  not 
meet  him  again  until  he  stands  forth  to  answer  to  his 
name  at  the  roll  call  when  we  are  all  summoned  to  the 
service  and  worship  of  the  Great  Master  in  the  Heav- 
enly Temple.  He  has  left  the  richest  legacy  which  man 
can  leave  to  man,  the  memory  of  a  good  name,  the  in- 
heritance of  a  great  example.  May  we  emulate  the 
bright  example  he  has  left  us  and  at  last  receive  the 
welcome  applaudit,  "Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
servant." 

May  the  healing  balm  from  the  unfailing  supply  of 
the  Saviour  be  poured  into  our  hearts  and  into  the 
hearts  of  the  bereaved  and  stricken  family. 

O.  B.  Eaton, 
George  S.  Norfleet, 
R.  E.  Transou, 

Committee. 


[Resolutions  of  Damon  Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias.] 


Castle  Hall,  Damon  Lodge,  No.  41,  K.  of  P.,  Winston 
North  Carolina,  January  14,  1904. 


Whereas,  It  has  pleased  an  allwise  Providence  to 
remove  from  among  us  our  beloved  Brother  Robt.  E. 
Caldwell,  be  it  Resolved: 


(75) 


MEMORIALS. 

First. — That  while  we  bow  in  meek  submission  to 
the  inscrutable  ways  of  Providence,  we  are  highly  sen- 
sible of  the  lofty  aims,  noble  life,  and  spotless  charac- 
ter of  our  departed  brother,  and  we  are  deeply  grieved 
at  his  untimely  loss  to  us,  both  as  a  citizen  and  a  loyal 
and  honored  member  of  Damon  Lodge,  No.  41, 
K.  of  P. 

Second. — That  we  tender  our  sincere  sympathy  to 
the  bereaved  relatives  in  their  hour  of  sorrow  and 
commend  them  to  the  care  of  the  Author  of  all  joy 
as  well  as  sorrow. 

Third. — That  these  resolutions  be  spread  upon  the 
Minutes  of  the  Lodge,  published  in  the  local  press,  and 
that  the  Keeper  of  Records  and  Seals  send  a  copy  of 
the  same  to  members  of  the  family. 

A.  B.  Bynum, 
R.  C.  Taylor, 

Committee. 


[Tribute  of  Salem  Lodge,  No.  289,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  Jan.  Q. 
1904.] 


Cherishing  the  remembrance  of,  and  very  great 
friendship  for,  our  deceased  friend  and  brother,  R.  E. 
Caldwell,  although  not  a  member  of  Salem  Lodge, 
No.  289,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  this  organization  did,  in  regu- 
lar meeting  assembled,  on  the  evening  of  January  5, 
by  unanimous  action,  express  deep  regret  at  the  appar- 

(76) 


MEMORIALS. 

ently  untimely  removal  from  our  midst  by  dissolution 
of  our  friend  and  brother,  and  does  further  extend 
to  his  family,  most  sincere  sympathy  in  this  hour  of 
sad  bereavement. 

We  commend  them  to  Him  who  gave,  and  hast,  :n 
His  all-wise  Providence  taken  away,  for  that  comfort 
which  He  alone  can  give  in  times  of  sore  bereavement, 
and  our  sincere  prayer  is  that  we  all  may  be  happily 
reunited  in  that  better  world  where  partings  never 
come,  and  supreme  joy  and  perfect  peace  remain 
forevermore. 

"When  those  we  love  in  Jesus  sleep, 

How  sweet  the  strains  their  spirits  pour ; 
Oh!  why  should  we  in  anguish  weep? 
They  are  not  lost,  but  gone  before." 

E.  A.  Ebert,  Secretary  pro  tern. 


(77) 


VI.    REMINISCENCES. 


[By  Prof.  J.  H.  Hill,  Statesville,  N.  C] 


MANY  tender  associations  endear  the  memory  of 
Robert  Ernest  Caldwell  to  the  people  of  States- 
ville, his  native  town,  especially  to  the  Presbyterian 
congregation  of  which  he  was  a  baptized  member. 

Here  he  spent  the  first  fifteen  years  of  his  life. 

He  was  a  typical  boy,  active  in  mind,  buoyant  in 
spirit,  with  a  merry  countenance  upon  which  a  quiet 
smile  seemed  ever  ready  to  resolve  itself  into  a  hearty 
laugh. 

Who  can  estimate  the  possibilities  of  boyhood? 
How  much  depends  upon  circumstances,  how  much 
upon  the  kind  of  influence  that  shapes  its  course ! 

One  fact  connected  with  the  early  training  of  this 
only  son  deserves  special  notice. 

Under  the  guidance  of  a  faithful  mother,  he  was 
required  to  be  in  his  place  at  the  prayer  meeting,  in 
the  Sabbath  school,  and  at  the  church  service.  His 
subsequent  life  bore  grateful  testimony  to  the  wisdom 
of  this  requirement. 

After  graduation  at  the  State  University,  it  was 
natural   that   he   should   select   for   his   life-work   the 


(78) 


ROBT.  E.  CALDWELL. 
TAKEN  ONE  YEAR  BEFORE  DEATH. 


REMINISCENCES. 

honored  profession  of  his  father,  an  able  lawyer  and 
high-toned  gentleman. 

But  his  was  a  godly  ancestry,  noted  for  the  number 
of  ministers  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  great 
King  and  Head  of  the  church  militant  had  chosen, 
qualified  and  appointed  him  to  the  same  high  calling. 

The  friends  of  his  boyhood  rejoiced  to  learn  that 
he  had  made  a  profession  of  faith,  and  consecrated  his 
life  to  the  ministry. 

Having  completed  his  theological  training  in  that 
excellent  school  of  the  prophets — Union  Seminary — 
few  young  men  surpassed  him  in  natural  and  acquired 
qualifications  for  his  chosen  work.  He  was  possessed 
of  a  high  degree  of  culture,  affable  and  easy  in  manner, 
gentle  but  firm  in  disposition,  and  was  endowed  with 
a  large  measure  of  common  sense. 

Twice  after  his  licensure  he  returned  to  his  native 
place  to  perform  important  service.  In  1893,  after  the 
erection  of  the  new  building  now  occupied  by  the 
Presbyterian  congregation,  by  the  unanimous  request 
of  the  beloved  pastor,  Rev.  Wm.  A.  Wood,  D.  D., 
and  people,  he  preached  the  dedicatory  sermon,  which 
was  appropriate  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  and  greatly 
enjoyed  by  all  who  heard  it. 

Again,  in  October,  1901,  at  the  earnest  solicitation 
of  the  pastor,  Rev.  C.  M.  Richards,  the  session  and 
congregation,  he  came  to  conduct  a  protracted  meeting 
which  continued  two  weeks. 

Never  within  the  recollection  of  the  oldest  memb'jr 

(79) 


REMINISCENCES. 

had  our  people  been  so  stirred  as  on  this  happy  occa- 
sion. Christians  were  greatly  revived  and  many  pre- 
cious souls  saved. 

Forty-two  young  persons,  most  of  them  boys,  pro- 
fessed faith  in  Christ,  and  were  received  into  the 
church. 

It  was  indeed  a  glorious  season  of  grace,  never  to 
be  forgotten.  The  series  of  sermons  could  not  be 
surpassed  in  appropriateness.  They  contained  the 
plain,  simple  truths  of  the  Gospel,  presented  with  so 
much  earnestness  and  warmth  of  affection  as  to  move 
even  the  hardest  hearts. 

So  delighted  were  the  session  with  the  preaching 
and  wise  mode  of  conducting  the  meeting,  that  at  their 
entreaty  a  promise  was  secured  for  his  return  at  the 
proper  time  to  conduct  a  like  service.  Alas !  The 
uncertainty  of  life ! 

The  sainted  brother  now  enjoys  a  perfect  service  in 
the  upper  sanctuary. 

Strange  to  us  that  he  should  have  been  called  away 
in  the  prime  of  life,  and  in  the  midst  of  increasing  use- 
fulness. But  the  Lord  says,  "My  thoughts  are  not 
your  thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my  ways.'' 

Let  us  thank  Him  for  the  gift  of  so  useful  a  life. 

The  early  death  of  a  good  man  means  only  less  of 
the  sin  and  sorrow  of  earth,  and  more  of  the  joys  of 
Heaven. 

Who  can  measure  the  power  of  a  holy  life?  How- 
grand  the  calling  of  the  consecrated  minister ! 

(80) 


REMINISCENCES. 

[By  Rev.  E.  A.  Osborne  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  Charlotte. 
North  Carolina.] 


I  have  seldom  known  a  person  possessed  of  a  more 
lovely  and  attractive  character  than  that  of  our  dear 
deceased  brother,  Rev.  R.  E.  Caldwell,  D.  D. 

As  a  child  he  was  lovely  and  beautiful  in  person 
and  character,  as  I  knew  him  in  his  boyhood  days  at 
Statesville.  As  a  man  he  seemed  to  fulfill  all  the  prom- 
ise of  an  unusually  bright,  amiable  and  talented  youth, 
and  the  hopes  of  his  fond  and  devoted  parents,  who 
bestowed  upon  him  all  the  care  and  attention  that 
parental  love  and  affection  could  suggest,  were  fully 
realized  in  him. 

As  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  while  firmly  attached  to 
that  branch  of  the  church  to  which  he  gave  his  life 
and  labors,  he  was  full  of  charity  and  good  will 
towards  all  Christian  people,  and  always  seemed  glad 
to  make  the  most  of  such  principles  as  were  held  in 
common  between  him  and  them. 

We  can  truly  say  that  the  Church,  the  State,  and 
society  are  immensely  poorer  for  the  loss  of  this  good 
man. 

[By  Mr.  G.  S.  Bradshaw,  Greensboro,  N.  C,  Jan.  4,  1904] 

REV.  ROBERT  ERNEST  CALDWELL,  D.  D. 


The  Passing  of  a  Great  and  Good  Man. 


Twenty-five  years  ago — a  quarter  of  a  century — 

(81) 


REMINISCENCES. 

there  might  have  been  seen  in  the  whirl  of  Greens- 
boros'  young  life  a  group  of  boys  whose  faces  and 
names  come  trooping  down  memory's  aisle  as  this  pen- 
cil wanders  back  to  those  halcyon  hours. 

"Lulled  in  the  countless  chambers  of  the  brain,  and 
linked  by  many  a  hidden  chain."  No  jollier  or  happier 
boys  ever  stood  under  the  mistletoe  than  those  who 
made  up  that  merry  group.  Nor  can  there  be  found 
in  time's  tireless  calendar  more  joyous  hours  than  those 
which  filled  the  holidays  for  that  aspiring  group  of 
splendid  fellows.  And  in  that  proud  group  there  was 
one  whose  sunny  soul  never  knew  the  shadow  of  an 
eclipse,  whose  gentle  impulses  were  always  warm, 
whose  nerve  was  always  knightly,  whose  handsome 
face  was  ever  beaming,  whose  every  instinct  was  gen- 
erous and  chivalrous,  whose  kindly  word  and  ready 
wit  were  the  charm  of  every  hour,  whose  noble  heart 
was  upon  his  sleeve  in  every  thought  and  in  every 
deed,  and  whose  life  was  fragrant  with  the  flowers 
of  its  own  sowing.  Ernest  Caldwell  he  was  and  is 
to  those  who  touched  his  life  in  those  swiftly  speeding 
days.  No  one  of  that  group  will  wonder  that  bitter 
tears  unbidden  bedewed  the  yellow  paper  that  bore  the 
sad  tidings  of  his  demise  to  his  faithful  flock  on  yes- 
terday, or  will  marvel  at  the  evidences  of  devotion 
which  mark  the  record  of  the  last  sad  honors  to  his 
memory  today.  No  one  of  that  group  will  ever  forget 
the  frank,  brave  and  winning  way  in  which  he  told 
of  his  high  resolve  to  forsake  and  quit  the  chase  of  the 

(82) 


REMINISCENCES. 

empty  phantoms  of  worldly  ambitions  and  to  spend 
and  be  spent  and  to  stake  his  all  in  the  service  of  the 
meek  and  lowly  Nazarene.  How  wisely  he  chose,  how 
splendidly  he  has  wrought,  and  how  gloriously  he  has 
won.  Along  the  unballasted  track  of  these  twenty-five 
years,  athwart  which  is  strewn  the  debris  of  the  wrecks 
of  some  of  that  proud  group,  he  has  escaped  every 
wreck,  and  at  the  end  finds  the  exit  placarded  with  the 
welcome  "Well  done."  I  pause  to  weave  and  hang  a 
simple  wreath  upon  the  cold  door  of  his  silent  chamber 
today,  and  across  it  I  would  write  what  Leigh  Hunt's 
angel  wrote  of  the  Arab  chieftain,  "And  lo,  Ben 
Adlem's  name  led  all  the  rest." 


[By  Mrs.  Cornelia  Phillips  Spencer,  Cambridge,  Mass.] 


A  little  over  twenty-five  years  ago,  Robert  Ernest 
Caldwell,  when  a  student  at  Chapel  Hill,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  my  class  in  Sabbath  school ;  but  after  he  left 
the  University  I  heard  from  him  only  at  intervals. 

I  have  often  recalled  with  much  pleasure  his  two 
days'  visit  at  my  house  in  Chapel  Hill,  not  long  before 
I  left  North  Carolina,  the  only  time  I  had  seen  him 
since  he  graduated.  I  thought  he  had  developed  admi- 
rably, and  I  observed  him  with  affectionate  interest, 
as  one  of  my  boys,  apparently  destined  to  a  long  life 
of  great  and  growing  influence  in  our  beloved  church — 

(83) 


REMINISCENCES. 

a  model  Presbyterian  minister,  manly,  genial,  culti- 
vated, yet  serious  and  devout,  and  inspiring  in  all  his 
conversation. 

I  once  had  a  letter  from  one  of  his  college  mates, 
whose  life  had  been  reclaimed  from  foolish  dissipa- 
tion, and  who,  telling  me  of  his  reformation,  ascribed 
the  turn  to  the  right  to  a  conversation  he  had  had 
in  the  railroad  station  at  Greensboro  with  Ernest  Cald- 
well, and  wrote,  "What  Caldwell  said  to  me  I  never 
could  shake  from  my  mind — it  cured  me." 

He  was  then  living  in  Kentucky,  and  met  his  old 
friend  by  what  we  call  accident.  But  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  accident  or  chance.  He  had  many  warm 
friends  who  loved  and  appreciated  him  thoroughly, 
and  I  have  felt  his  death  a  cruel  blow. 


[By  Rev.  A.  L.  Phillips,  D.  D.,  Richmond,  Va.] 


When  small  boys,  Ernest  Caldwell  and  I  played 
together,  and  then  became  friends. 

As  the  years  went  by,  we  met  as  students  at  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  and  as  we  had  some 
classes  together  and  were  members  of  the  same  literary 
society,  these  college  days  drew  closer  the  ties  formed 
in  boyhood,  and  I  grew  to  love  him  more  and  more. 

When  he  became  a  minister  I  greatly  rejoiced,  and 
it  gave  me  the  keenest  pleasure  to  come  in  touch  with 
him  through  all  the  years  until  his  home-going.     In 

(84) 


REMINISCENCES. 

every  relation  he  was  always  the  same  cheerful,  hearty, 
and  genial  companion. 

His  church  work  was  characterized  by  great  good 
sense  and  faithfulness. 

I  watched  his  career  with  the  deepest  interest,  and 
was  so  thankful  that  God  honored  him  again  and  again 
in  special  evangelistic  services,  when  many  souls  were 
led  to  Jesus  through  his  messages. 

In  the  daily  and  ordinary  work  of  the  pastorate  he 
was  truly  beloved  and  blessed. 

His  brethren  in  the  dear  old  Synod  of  North  Caro- 
lina respected  him  truly,  and  rejoiced  to  honor  him. 

His  character  developed  with  the  years,  and  was 
adorned  by  a  touch  of  his  Lord  until  it  became  not 
only  strong  but  beautiful. 

When  the  news  of  his  death  reached  me  it  came 
as  a  shock,  and  my  heart  cried  out  for  my  brother 
with  whom  I  had  had  sweet  communion. 

His  work  will  endure  forever,  being  constructive  In 
the  best  sense  of  the  word. 


[By  Hon.  E.  B.  Jones,    Judge   Eleventh   District,    Winston- 
Salem,  N.  C] 


It  was  my  pleasure  to  first  know  and  admire  Dr. 
Caldwell  when  he  crossed  the  threshold  of  boyhood 
and  entered  the  law  school  of  Judges  Dick  and  Dillard 
at  Greensboro,  North  Carolina. 


(85) 


REMINISCENCES. 

There  his  associates  in  the  study  of  law  learned  to 
appreciate  and  love  him  as  a  true  friend. 

He  was  a  knightly  young  gentleman,  full  of  courtesy 
and  grace.  I  left  him  at  the  law  school,  and  entered 
the  arduous  life  of  a  lawyer,  and  several  years  passed 
before  we  met  again,  as  he  soon  after  made  his  home  in 
the  State  of  Kentucky,  in  the  service  of  the  Master, 
where  he  won  deserved  distinction  and  love  in  his 
life's  work. 

In  after  years,  when  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
church  at  Winston-Salem,  North  Carolina,  I  happily 
welcomed  him  once  more  into  a  closer  friendship. 

His  father  was  a  lawyer  of  marked  ability,  always 
kind  and  considerate  to  the  younger  members  of  the 
bar,  ever  ready  to  hold  out  his  hand  to  encourage 
and  lift  up  a  struggling  brother.  What  Dr.  Caldwell 
did  in  the  noble  work  of  his  Lord  and  Master  is  an 
earnest  of  what  his  character,  influence  and  ability 
would  have  given  to  the  profession  of  the  law. 

Cut  down  in  the  prime  of  life,  just  when  his  ripened 
experience  was  adding  force  to  his  well  developed  intel- 
lectual powers,  his  death  was  a  great  loss  to  the  State, 
his  church  and  to  the  cause  to  which  he  had  so  earnestly 
and  faithfully  dedicated  his  young  life. 

When  I  saw  him  on  the  day  he  left  us,  never  to 
return,  there  was  a  shadow  of  sadness  hanging  over 
his  kindly  smile,  but  pain  could  not  eradicate  the  gentle 
courteous  manner,  the  warm  greeting  to  friend  and 
stranger  alike,  that  characterized  him  in  young  man- 

(86) 


REMINISCENCES. 

hood,  and  was  ever  present  through  life.     It  was  al- 
ways the  same. 

God  had  given  to  him  those  traits  of  character  that 
o-o  to  make  the  true  man  and  Christian  gentleman,  and 

to 

they  could  not  be  effaced. 

One  feels  better  that  it  was  his  fortune  to  have 
known  such  a  man,  and  happier  still  that,  through  his 
short  but  useful  life,  there  was  one  continuous  thread 
of  friendship  unbroken  till  severed  by  death. 


[By  Rev.  Robert    P.    Pell,    President   of   Converse    College, 
Spartansburg,  S.  C.] 

Just  as  the  College  was  reorganizing  after  the  holi- 
days I  was  shocked  to  read  a  telegram  announcing 
the  death  of  my  comrade  and  friend,  Robert  Ernest 

Caldwell. 

I  wish  to  speak  of  my  personal  debt  to  him  which 
I  have  never  forgotten,  and  will  never  forget. 

I  will  not  stop  to  recall  the  delightful  association 
I  had  with  him  at  the  preparatory  school  at  Lenoir. 
North  Carolina,  and  at  the  University  at  Chapel  Hill. 

In  after  years,  when,  on  one  night  I  was  stopping 
at  a  hotel  in  Greensboro,  he  called  to  see  me,  occurred 
a  conversation  which  had  more  to  do  with  my  becom- 
ing a  Christian  than  any  other  earthly  influence.  He 
was  then  a  theological  student,  previous  to  entering 

(87) 


REMINISCENCES. 

the  ministry,  but  was  already  trying  to  do  his  Master's 
work. 

While  we  talked  together,  he  discovered  my  diffi- 
culty, and  then,  with  the  faithfulness  of  a  true  friend, 
did  not  hesitate  to  tell  me  as  plainly  as  possible  some 
truths  about  myself  to  which  I  was  wholly  insensible 
before.  The  memory  of  his  words  lingered  with  me 
many  months,  until  I  eventually  surrendered  my  life 
to  Christ. 

This  experience  bound  me  more  closely  to  him  than 
ever  before,  and  though  we  have  rarely  met  during 
recent  years,  I  have  watched  with  eager  pride  every 
step  he  has  taken,  as  far  as  I  could  learn  of  him 
through  mutual  acquaintances  and  the  press. 

I  do  hope  one  day  to  stand  with  him  up  yonder,  and 
tell  our  King  how  true  and  loyal  he  was  in  his  ministry 
here. 


[By  Rev.  Walter  W.  Moore,  D.  D.,  President  Union  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  Richmond,  Va.] 


My  acquaintance  with  Brother  Caldwell  began  in 
1883,  tne  year  I  began  to  teach  in  Union  Seminary.  He 
was  then  a  member  of  the  graduating  class.  Though 
his  work  lay  chiefly  in  the  central  west  after  he  left 
the  Seminary,  our  acquaintance  was  renewed  from  time 
to  time,  notably  on  the  occasion  of  my  marriage,  when 
he  was  one  of  our  attendants,  and  also  in  the  years  that 

(83) 


REMINISCENCES. 

followed,  especially  after  he  became  pastor  at  Winston. 
Throughout  this  long  acquaintance  and  friendship  the 
thing  that  struck  me  most  about  him  was  his  bright- 
ness and  buoyancy  of  spirit.  He  was  like  a  burst  of 
sunshine.  He  was  a  Christian  of  the  happy  and  help- 
ful type.  He  had  a  sunny  disposition,  but  better  than 
that,  he  had  a  sunny  faith.  In  my  memory  of  him  noth- 
ing stands  out  clearer  than  this  cheeriness  and  hopeful- 
ness, growing  out  of  an  assured  and  peaceful  trust  in 
God.  And  it  gave  a  joyousness  to  his  general  bearing 
as  a  minister,  which  was  in  itself,  a  benediction  to  the 
community. 

Along  with  this  he  had  a  tender  and  sympathetic 
heart.  And  he  was  a  deeply  spiritual  preacher.  His 
sermons  were  those  of  a  man  of  God,  profoundly  im- 
pressed with  the  responsibility  of  his  office,  full  of 
prayer,  loyal  to  the  Scriptures,  and  rejoicing  in  the 
privilege  of  preaching  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God. 

Such  a  character,  such  a  life,  such  a  ministry,  do  not 
cease  to  exert  their  beneficent  influence  when  the  man 
in  whom  they  were  embodied  is  called  away  from  us. 
They  abide  still  to  bless  the  community  and  church 
for  which  he  labored.  And  so,  "he  being  dead  yet 
speaketh." 

[By  Rev.  Thompson  M.  Hawes,  D.  D.,  Pastor  Highland 
Presbyterian  Church,  Louisville,  Ky.l 

It  was  my  privilege  to  enjoy  a  personal  acquaintance 
and  friendship  with  the  lamented  Rev.  Robt.  E.  Cald- 

(89) 


REMINISCENCES. 

well,  D.  D.,  during  his  pastorate  in  the  Highland  Pres- 
byterian Church.  I  also  had  the  honor  of  being  called 
to  succeed  him,  when,  on  the  protest  of  the  congrega- 
tion, his  Presbytery  directed  him  to  take  up  evangelis- 
tic work  in  the  State  of  Kentucky.  My  relation  to  him, 
therefore,  enables  me  to  speak  out  of  personal  knowl- 
edge of  his  character  as  a  man,  and  his  work  as  a  pas- 
tor and  preacher.  He  was  a  man  of  high  ideals,  and 
possessed  a  character  in  which  beauty  and  strength 
were  blended ;  positive  in  his  convictions,  but  persua- 
sive in  presenting  them,  and,  withal,  manifesting  a  win- 
some personality.  He  was  faithful  as  a  pastor,  and 
after  the  lapse  of  more  than  twelve  years,  is  still  affec- 
tionably  remembered  in  many  homes  where  his  sudden 
death  brought  genuine  sorrow. 


[By  Rev.  Peyton  H.  Hoge,  D.  D.,  Pastor  Warren  Memorial 
Presbyterian  Church,  Louisville,  Ky.] 


So  many  things  crowd  my  memory,  so  many  pictures 
rise  in  my  heart,  for  which  a  brief  page  gives  no  scope. 

Days  at  the  seminary  with  Robert  Ernest  Caldwell, 
when  our  lives  were  before  us,  and  our  hopes  buoyant 
and  strong;  his  installation  at  Winston  when  he  was 
addressing  himself  with  all  his  mental  and  spiritual 
ardor  to  the  work  of  a  new  field,  and  had  already  won 
the  hearts  of  his  people ;  delightful  reunions  at  Synod ; 
a  visit  to  my  own  home  at  Wilmington,  N.  C,  where 

(90) 


REMINISCENCES. 

his  warm,  spiritual  preaching,  and  his  bright  genial 
spirit  made  him  many  friends  in  the  old  coast  town. 
Most  of  all,  the  months  together  on  ancient  rivers  and 
balmy  plains,  and  golden  deserts,  beneath  Egyptian 
suns  and  Syrian  skies :  and 

"In  those  holy  fields  over  whose  acres  walked  those  blessed 
feet, 
Which  eighteen  hundred  years  ago  were  nailed, 
For  our  advantage  on  the  bitter  cross." 

There  is  not  a  spot  in  all  those  lands  the  memory  of 
which  is  not  in  some  way  intertwined  with  his. 

And  then,  after  several  years,  I  met  him  at  Clifton 
Springs,  New  York,  with  the  same  bright  smile,  the 
same  genial  ways,  and  the  same  thought  for  others, 
the  same  ready,  responsive  sympathy. 

I  believe  if  I  had  to  single  out  one  quality  as  most 
characteristic,  it  would  be  that  he  drew  people  to  him- 
self because  of  his  personal  interest  in  them. 

Others  may  speak  of  his  accurate  scholarship,  of  his 
Biblical  and  theological  thoroughness,  of  his  attractive 
style,  and  his  pastoral  activity.  I  have  preferred  to 
speak  rather  of  those  qualities  that  made  him  my 
friend  and  a  friend  to  many.  For  in  these  qualities  it 
was,  I  think,  that  he  was  most  like  his  Master. 


[By  Rev.  J.    S.    Lyons,    D.    D.,    Pastor    First    Presbyterian 
Church,  Louisville,  Ky.] 

The  friendship  which  existed  between  Dr.  Caldwell 
and  myself  dated  from  our  seminary  days  at  Hampden- 

(91) 


REMINISCENCES. 

Sidney.  We  belonged  to  different  classes,  but  we  had 
much  in  common,  and  were  often  together.  Later,  our 
lots  were  cast  by  Providence  in  the  same  synod,  and  for 
some  years  we  were  neighboring  pastors. 

The  ties  of  friendship  were  strengthened  by  his  min- 
istry in  joining  me  to  my  helpmate  in  life,  and  subse- 
quently by  baptizing  our  baby  boy. 

Exchange  of  pulpits,  and  pleasant  and  intimate  social 
intercourse,  gave  me  an  estimate  of  his  character, 
which  imparted  to  the  tidings  of  his  death  the  sharp- 
ness of  an  arrow  in  the  heart,  and  which  leaves  as  the 
result  of  an  earthly  acquaintance,  all  too  short,  a 
strengthened  conviction  of  the  truth  of  our  holy 
religion,  and  the  blessedness  of  him  whose  meat  and 
drink  is  to  do  his  Master's  will. 

He  studied  to  show  himself  approved  unto  God,  a 
workman  that  needed  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly 
dividing  the  Word  of  Truth.  He  has  fought  the  good 
fight,  he  has  laid  hold  on  eternal  life,  whereunto  he 
was  also  called,  and  concerning  which  he  had  professed 
a  good  profession  before  many  witnesses. 

His  character  was  an  interesting  complex  of  strength 
and  gentleness,  of  courage  and  humility.,  of  the  sterner 
qualities  of  manhood  and  the  attractive  graces  of  a 
little  child. 

"His  life  was  gentle;  and  the  elements  so  mixed  in 
him  that  nature  might  stand  up  and  say  to  all  the  world, 
'This  was  a  man.'  " 

(92) 


REMINISCENCES. 

[By  Rev.  D.  Clay   Lilly.  D.    D.,    Pastor    First    Presbyterian 
Church,  Winston-Salem,  N.  CJ 


It  was  a  great  grief  to  me  to  hear  the  sad  news  of 
the  death  of  my  esteemed  friend,  Rev.  Dr.  Caldwell, 
and  it  was  more  of  a  shock  because  I  knew  nothing 
of  his  illness  and  thought  he  was  in  perfect  health. 

I  want  to  give  expression  to  my  sense  of  personal 
loss  in  this  sad  dispensation. 

I  have  known  Dr.  Caldwell  most  pleasantly  for 
fifteen  years,  having  formed  a  delightful  acquaintance 
with  him  in  the  years  of  his  ministry  in  the  Synod  of 
Kentucky. 

I  knew  him  first  at  Central  University,  at  Richmond, 
Ky.,  where  he  held  a  series  of  meetings  with  especial 
reference  to  the  students. 

Dr.  Caldwell  was  the  first  Pastor  of  the  Southern 
Church  at  Frankfort,  now  under  the  leadership  of  the 
Rev.  William  Crowe,  who  was  converted  at  the  meet- 
ing referred  to  above. 

In  a  recent  visit  to  Frankfort,  although  many  years 
had  intervened  since  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Caldwell,  I 
found  his  memory  still  fresh  in  the  hearts  of  the  people, 
and  many  were  the  references  to  his  work  and  preach- 
ing. After  he  left  the  Synod  of  Kentucky,  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  him  at  different  times,  and  I  always 
delighted  in  his  companionship  and  counted  him  one 
of  my  staunchest  friends. 

And  now  that  I  have  succeeded  him  here  as  Pastor 
of  this  church,  I  see  very  markedly  the  evidence  of  his 

(93) 


REMINISCENCES. 

abundant  and  successful  labors.  Comparing  the  mem- 
bership of  this  church  at  the  time  he  became  its  Pastor 
with  it  at  the  close  of  his  work,  I  see  every  possible 
evidence  of  his  devoted  and  efficient  labors. 

The  influences  for  good  started  by  him  will  live 
through  untold  years.  What  the  harvest  of  his  faithful 
work  will  be  in  eternity  none  of  us  can  even  guess. 

He  rests  from  his  labors,  and  his  works  follow  him. 


[By  Rev.  Edward  O.  Guerrant,  D.  D.,  Wilmore,  Ky.] 


It  was  a  strange  Providence  which  called  away 
this  gifted  young  man,  Robert  Ernest  Caldwell,  in 
the  midst  of  his  life  and  labors.  Only  the  eye  of  faith 
can  discover  any  explanation,  and  that  alone  in  the 
wisdom  of  God,  "who  doeth  all  things  well."  Though 
we  do  not  know  now,  we  "shall  know  hereafter,"  and 
commend  the  goodness  which  promoted  him  to  a 
higher  service  in  a  glorious  world. 

I  first  knew  Dr.  Caldwell  when  he  served  the 
churches  at  Louisville  and  Frankfort,  Kentucky;  and 
afterwards  when  he  was  evangelist  of  our  Synod. 
I  knew  him  more  intimately  while  in  his  last  charge 
at  Winston-Salem,  North  Carolina. 

During  his  ten  years'  pastorate  of  that  large  church, 
T  had  the  pleasure  of  assisting  him  on  two  occasions  in 
protracted  services.  I  may  therefore  speak  with  some 
confidence  of  his  character  and  work. 

(94) 


REMINISCENCES. 

No  one  who  knew  him  could  fail  to  be  impressed 
with  the  buoyancy  of  his  spirits.  He  was  brimful  of 
life  and  energy.  The  most  trying  experiences  of  minis- 
terial work  never  seemed  to  dampen  his  ardor  or 
depress  his  spirits.  The  "joys  of  salvation"  were  not 
more  real  to  him  than  the  joys  of  service  for  his 
Saviour. 

He  was  an  unusually  fine  preacher,  both  in  the  man- 
ner and  the  matter  of  his  discourse.  With  no  effort 
at  oratory,  he  was  an  eloquent  and  convincing  speaker. 

Among  all  the  devoted  and  excellent  brethren  with 
whom  I  have  labored,  I  do  not  know  any  who  pos- 
sessed more  wisdom  and  earnestness  in  evangelistic 
effort.  One  of  the  most  successful  revivals  I  ever 
remember  was  in  his  church  at  Winston-Salem.  He 
was  most  ably  assisted  by  a  fine  corps  of  officers,  but 
the  burden  of  the  preparation  and  work  fell  on  his 
shoulders. 

Every  detail  was  admirably  arranged  and  success- 
fully carried  out.  Nothing  was  left  to  luck  or  hap- 
hazard. The  victory  was  organized  before  the  battle 
was  fought.  God  honored  his  zeal  and  faith,  and 
scores  of  souls  were  won  for  his  Master,  who  are 
now  stars  in  his  crown. 

That  such  a  man,  in  the  maturity  of  his  manhood, 
and  the  fullness  of  his  strength,  should  be  so  suddenly 
and  unexpectedly  called  away,  is  one  of  the  unsolved 
mysteries  of  Providence. 

His  removal  was  a  great  loss  to  the  Church;  an 

(95) 


REMINISCENCES. 

irreparable  loss  to  his  widowed  mother  and  sisters, 
and  a  personal  loss  to  hundreds  of  friends,  as  well 
as  to  myself. 

But  he  left  behind  him  a  rich  legacy  of  faithful  ser- 
vice for  his  Master,  and  of  loving  devotion  to  family 
and  friends.  He  has  gone  to  a  glorious  reward  at  the 
hands  of  the  Lord  he  loved  so  well  and  served  so  zeal- 
ously. We  hope  to  meet  him  there  in  the  General 
Assembly  and  Church  of  the  First  Born,  still  in  the 
bloom  of  an  eternal  youth,  and  the  vigor  of  an  immor- 
tal manhood.  Until  then,  farewell,  our  friend  and 
brother,  Ernest  Caldwell. 


[By  the  Hon.  Robert  Glenn,  Governor  of  North  Carolina.] 


Rev.  Robert  E.  Caldwell,  our  friend  and  beloved 
pastor,  is  dead,  and  deeply  we  mourn  his  loss. 

A  year  ago,  with  a  heart  full  of  joy  and  gladness, 
with  hope  kindling  his  eyes,  and  lofty  purposes  filling 
his  soul,  strong  and  well,  he  stood  amongst  us,  an 
active,  vigorous  man,  an  humble,  true  Christian. 

Though  he  had  complained  of  feeling  unwell  and 
went  North  to  a  hospital  for  treatment,  no  one  rea- 
lized that  his  condition  was  serious,  and  the  sudden 
announcement  of  his  death  came  as  a  terrible  shock 
to  the  community. 

In  his  death,  his  church  lost  a  most  earnest,  zealous 
pastor,  the  State  a  patriotic  citizen,  his  friends  a  genial, 

(96) 


REMINISCENCES. 

helpful  companion,  his  mother  a  devoted,  tender  son, 
his  sisters  a  faithful  brother,  and  the  world  a  con- 
scientious, Christian  man. 

He  was  noble  and  true,  strong  yet  gentle,  brave  but, 
oh,  so  tender.  Full  of  fun,  enjoying  life,  feeling  it 
not  necessary  to  look  austere  nor  wear  a  long  face, 
still  whose  eyes  dimmed  quicker  at  the  story  of  suffer- 
ing, whose  hand  more  ready  to  place  to  parched  lips 
the  cool  drink  of  water,  or  break  to  weary  souls  the 
bread  of  life ! 

For  nearly  eleven  years,  as  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Winston,  he  went  in  and  out  among  us,  no 
blot  of  scandal  ever  touched  his  name  or  marred  his 
Christian  usefulness,  and  no  word  could  be  uttered 
against  his  purity  of  character,  his  fidelity  to  duty, 
or  his  nobility  of  soul. 

Courteous  and  kind  to  all  his  members,  both  rich 
and  poor,  and  ever  full  of  deepest  solicitude  for  their 
needs,  both  temporal  and  spiritual,  still  he  was  firm 
as  a  rock  in  the  discharge  of  what  he  conceived  to  be 
his  duty,  and  never  made  a  compromise  with  sin  for 
the  sake  of  popularity.  His  sunny  countenance 
bespoke  his  simple,  Christian  spirit,  that  showed  he 
walked  with  God. 

His  cheery  voice  and  gentle  manner  made  him  wel- 
come everywhere,  bringing  joy  to  the  sick,  consola- 
tion to  the  weary  and  desolate,  and  courage  to  the  faint 
and  weak. 

Though  dead,  his  life,  his  example,  his  teachings, 

(97) 


REMINISCENCES. 

still  speak  to  us,  and  if  we  profit  by  them,  and,  like 
him,  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  our  Master,  we,  too, 
may  live  again  with  him  in  the  life  everlasting. 

Peace  to  his  ashes,  for  while  we  sorrow  over  our 
loss,  in  the  death  of  this  good  man,  our  friend,  we 
know  he  dwells  in  endless  bliss,  in  the  glory-world 
of  God's  eternity. 

[By  the  Hon.  Clement  Manly.  Winston-Salem,  N.  C.  Jan.  5, 
1904.] 


My  regard  for  Dr.  R.  E.  Caldwell  and  admiration 
of  his  high  character  and  purpose,  suggest  this  tribute. 

I  had  the  honor  of  his  acquaintance  for  ten  years. 
I  esteem  it  a  privilege  to  have  known  him  and  to  have 
shared  in  the  light  he  cast  about  him,  a  light  always 
reflected  on  the  path  that  led  to  good. 

He  was  indeed  a  Christian  and  a  gentleman,  and 
his  life  in  this  community  has  been  above  reproach. 

He  goes  for  the  reward  of  those  who  have  helped 
their  fellow  men,  and  made  them  feel  and  do  better. 

He  had  won  of  the  entire  people  their  respect,  admi- 
ration and  love. 


[By  Miss  S.  O.  H.  Dickson,  Winston-Salem,  N.  C] 


THE    SUNRISE    SERVICES    OF    THE    TWEN- 
TIETH  CENTURY  NEW  YEAR. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  impressive  services 
of   the   pastorate   by   Dr.    Caldwell    was   the    Sunrise 


REMINISCENCES. 

Service  on  January  I,  1 901,  at  7.30  o'clock. 

This  he  planned,  and  doubtless  prayed  over.  Any 
doubts  as  to  its  success  were  speedily  dispelled  when 
the  people,  men,  women  and  children,  began  to  gather, 
and  soon  the  spacious  church  was  filled.  There  were 
members  of  all  the  churches  present  to  worship  and  to 
praise  their  common  Lord,  and  ministers  of  the  Bap- 
tist, Methodist  and  Moravian  churches  assisted  in  the 
beautiful  service  of  song  and  prayer.  After  the  Dox- 
ology  and  prayer  and  the  Scripture  reading,  came, 
perhaps,  the  most  impressive  part  of  the  service.  Dur- 
ing the  singing  of  the  hymn,  "How  Firm  a  Founda- 
tion," the  elders  passed  through  the  congregation  and 
collected  papers  upon  which  had  been  previously  writ- 
ten "an  expression  of  the  desire  of  the  heart,  together 
with  some  chosen  promise  or  motto  text,  without 
signature." 

The  congregation  had  been  requested  by  the  pastor 
to  do  this,  and  the  response  was  most  gratifying. 

These  were  not  read,  but  placed  in  one  large  basket 
and  "laid  before  the  Lord." 

After  a  moment  of  silent  prayer  the  intercessory 
prayer  was  offered,  and  all  together  the  petitions  and 
desires  winged  their  way  to  the  Great  Hearer  of  prayer. 

Who  that  was  present  can  ever  forget  that  hour? 
Above  us  hung  the  pale  star  that  reminded  us  of  Him 
who  had  come  to  save  us  from  our  sins,  and  "to  pre- 
sent us  faultless  before  the  presence  of  His  glory !" 

Outside  the  first  rays  of  the  rising  sun  were  remind- 

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REMINISCENCES. 

ing  us  of  the  Son  of  Righteousness  to  whom  we  looked 
for  light. 

After  the  singing  of  a  hymn  and  prayer  for  the 
children  and  young  people,  and  for  schools  and  col- 
leges, and  the  Twentieth  Century  Endowment  Fund, 
the  pastor  delivered  a  short  sermon  from  John  21  : 4 — 
a  beautiful  and  most  suggestive  talk  it  was. 

Another  prayer  and  the  hymn,  "All  Hail  the  Power 
of  Jesus'  Name/'  the  benediction  was  pronounced,  and 
the  large  congregation  dispersed  quietly,  under  the 
spell  of  this  lovely  and  remarkable  service,  and  grateful 
to  him  who  had  planned  it. 

THE  END. 


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